Mrs. Lu saw Lu Hao's behavior of sending gifts to appease the Xu family and was angry, but her son had grown up and had become more independent, so he pretended to obey her words.
"I really don't know what's so good about Xu Mingyu!" Madam Lu shook her head and sighed, complaining to her sister-in-law Lu and niece Hong Fang'er, "I originally thought that Miss Fu was good, but who knew she was the same kind of person as Xu Mingyu! What a pity."
Mrs. Lu lost her husband at an early age and her family was poor. She had no choice but to take her daughter to her natal family. However, she had only been there for a few days when the Lu family encountered trouble again. Mrs. Lu had no ability and could only live with her sister-in-law, Mrs. Lu. Mrs. Lu was strong-willed and she was weak-willed. She listened to Mrs. Lu in everything. More than ten years had passed, and the two women got along very harmoniously. The two women raised their children together with great difficulty.
"Hao'er is grown up now. Sister-in-law, you should talk to him nicely. This child is filial, and no one can compare to you in love." Mrs. Lu said in line with what Mrs. Lu said.
Mrs. Lu felt relieved after hearing this. She looked at Hong Fang'er who was sitting beside her obediently, took Fang'er's hand and said with a smile, "I think Fang'er is good. When your brother's marriage is completed and your sister-in-law comes into the family, I will ask him to give you a status. With your aunt watching over you, she won't let you suffer any loss!"
Hong Fang'er blushed and whispered, "I will listen to my aunt."
Mrs. Lu's face lit up with joy. Seeing Mrs. Lu's expression full of gratitude and expectation, she said repeatedly, "That can't be allowed. I know you love Fang'er, but you still have to wait for a year or so, lest your niece-in-law gets angry."
Mrs. Lu disagreed, "No matter how rich her family is, she has to abide by the rules of our Lu family when she enters our house. Can she disobey her mother-in-law?" She worked hard for more than ten years to raise her son. Fortunately, her son worked hard and stood in a high position, bringing honor to the ancestors of the Lu family. If her daughter-in-law doesn't come to honor her as the mother-in-law, does she have to look at her daughter-in-law's face? There is no such reason. Mrs. Lu said it happily, but she was a little uncertain in her heart. She must marry her son to a noble lady. But she was worried that she was of low birth and her daughter-in-law was of high birth, and she would not be able to control her daughter-in-law in the future. Fortunately, there was Fang'er who always listened to her. In the future, there would be one more person standing on her side, and she would have more power to control her daughter-in-law.
Ever since Xiao Qi came to deliver something, Mingyu hadn't seen Lu Hao until the seventh day of the seventh month. Mrs. Xu kept muttering to him from time to time, but she didn't know what Lu Hao was thinking, and she was too embarrassed to ask him. She was in a state of confusion.
"Mom, please find an opportunity to let my brother return the gift that Lord Lu sent." Mingyu said.
Mrs. Xu was surprised and said with a smile, "How can this be possible! You have already accepted the things, so it would be unreasonable to send them back. Why don't I pack a few things and ask your brother to go to Lord Lu's house to sit down and feel out his attitude?" If they were sent back intact, wouldn't it be obvious that the marriage was off
"Why bother?" Mingyu frowned and pouted. Her mother was anxious about this marriage, fearing that Lu Hao would regret it. However, was it worth it to be so humble and careful to please him? "If he was willing, he would have said it long ago. I don't think it's good to keep him hanging in the balance now."
Mrs. Xu knew this truth. She sighed and said, "Let's wait a little longer. If he still has nothing to say after this month, we can return the gift."
However, Mingyu didn't expect that Lu Hao would appear at noon just after she mentioned him at home in the morning. Today is the Chinese Valentine's Day. The business of the cloth shop has been good these days. Mingyu and Madam Xu take turns to be in the shop. When Lu Hao came, Mingyu was counting the goods in the shop. She heard the clerk in front say that a young man named Lu was looking for her. Mingyu was stunned for a moment, put down the account book and came out.
Lu Hao was not the only one standing in the store. There was also a girl of about fourteen or fifteen, wearing a white silk dress, two shining gold bracelets on her wrists, gold flower earrings on her ears, a huge gold hairpin inlaid with pink pearls on her head, a white jade lock around her neck, and she looked very honest.
Seeing the girl next to Lu Hao, Mingyu was slightly surprised. Lu Hao came over first and said with a smile: "Mingyu, this is my cousin Hong Fanger. She came with my mother this time to play in Beijing for two days. She doesn't have any friends here, and it's not convenient for me to take her out. There will be a lantern festival tonight, you can take her to have a look."
Hong Fang'er was about the same age as her, and she stared at Mingyu with eager eyes.
Mingyu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She hadn't even become Lu Hao's wife yet, but she had already become his nanny. "Okay, if Miss Hong doesn't mind, let's go out for a walk together tonight." Looking at Hong Fang'er, Mingyu smiled kindly.
Putting aside the marriage, Lu Hao had helped her before, so out of gratitude, she had to do him this small favor.
Seeing Mingyu's straightforward agreement, Lu Hao smiled even more. In fact, Mingyu was a straightforward person who was easy to get along with, and usually quiet and sensible. His mother was determined to marry a noble lady, but she didn't think about whether a noble lady would take her, a poor mother-in-law, seriously.
In the afternoon, Mingyu was counting goods in the warehouse at the back, and Hong Fang'er was standing aside watching. Lu Hao had to go back for something, so he asked Hong Fang'er to wait in the store first.
Looking at the materials that filled the entire warehouse, Hong Fanger curiously went forward to touch the row of materials closest to her, and couldn't help asking, "What kind of material is this?"
Mingyu stood up, took a look, and said with a smile: "This is a fake Luo made in Fujian."
"Fake silk... It's not real silk or satin, but it feels pretty good." Hong Fang'er smiled and tilted her head to look at Mingyu.
Mingyu smiled and said, "Fake silk is a material made of cotton, silk and linen. Although its quality is not as good as the silk from Suzhou and Hangzhou, it is also good." Well-made fake silk is not cheap. People with wealthy families usually wear clothes made of this material.
"That's not as good as real silk!" Hong Fang'er said, looking down at her brand new dress, and said with a smile: "Sister Mingyu, you are in this business, you must have good taste, take a look at this white silk on me, what do you think?"
Mingyu smiled faintly, glanced at Hong Fanger standing there, and nodded, "Very good."
Hong Fanger giggled, very happy, and lovingly patted the non-existent dust on her sleeves and skirt, and said with a smile: "This is what my cousin bought for me, of course it's good! I have three sets of clothes of this material in different colors. As soon as I came to Beijing, my cousin bought me a lot of things, saying that girls should dress up beautifully..."
Mingyu spent the entire afternoon counting items in the warehouse. Hong Fanger chattered incessantly beside her ear, telling Mingyu how many items her cousin paid for, where she bought them, and how much they were worth. Mingyu's ears were almost callused from listening to her.
It was not until Lu Hao came to take Hong Fang'er away that Mingyu breathed a sigh of relief. She had thought this girl was quite honest, but now it seemed that she was quite vain. Mingyu remembered a saying from a friend in her previous life, "The more people lack something, the more they try to show off it." It was estimated that Miss Hong was afraid of being poor, and once she arrived in Beijing and had a rich cousin, she exploded and could not be controlled.
After dinner, Lu Hao brought Hong Fang'er over again. Mingyu took Hong Fang'er to wait in the store for a while, and then Xu Mingye came. After a while, Fu Lemei and her third and fourth brothers, who had made an appointment with Mingyu a long time ago, also came.
Seeing Hong Fang'er, who was shining with golden light, Fu Lemei's eyelids twitched. She pulled Mingyu aside and whispered in her ear, "Who is she? Where did she come from?" She was dressed like a nouveau riche. Fu Lemei was a little reluctant to go out and play with this person.
Mingyu sighed and whispered, "She is Lord Lu's cousin. She just came to the capital and has no friends. She wants us to take her to see the Lantern Festival."
When Fu Lemei heard that it was Lu Hao's relative, her face looked a little better. She couldn't help but glance at Hong Fang'er and muttered, "Master Lu looks quite normal, but why are all his family members more abnormal than the other!"
Hong Fang'er received Fu Lemei's glance and thought that Fu Lemei envied her rich dress. She straightened her back and raised her head higher. She thought that the young lady of the Fu family that her aunt had been talking about was nothing special. She was dressed so plainly, with only a silk flower on her head, and the material on her body was not as good as hers.
Walking two blocks from Mingyu's cloth shop, you will arrive at the Qixi Lantern Market, which stretches from the West Street of the capital to the East Street of the capital, all the way to the lakeside of the capital.
The streets are crowded with people. Various lanterns are placed on the roadside, lighting up the streets. Stalls selling various snacks and food are interspersed among them, surrounded by people. Most of the people who watch the lanterns are young men and women walking together, with shy but overflowing smiles. There are also many families going out to watch the lanterns together, with young fathers holding their children in their arms and lifting them on their shoulders. There are too many people blocking the children's view of the lanterns. The children are anxious in their father's arms, asking to go closer to the lanterns. If they can't squeeze through, the father will laugh and lift the children higher.
They didn't expect so many people to come. Xu Mingye and the two young masters of the Fu family sandwiched the three girls in between, and told them not to run around to avoid getting separated.
Fu Lemei kindly reminded Hong Fanger, "There are many thieves in the capital, and they will strike when there are many people around. You'd better keep an eye on the things on you."
These words frightened Hong Fang'er so much that her face turned pale. She took two steps and felt up and down to see if her jewelry was still there.
However, halfway through the walk, a crowd of people going in the opposite direction suddenly rushed over, and Mingyu was pushed back a few steps. After she stood firm and looked back, she could no longer find Xu Mingye and Fu Lemei in the dark crowd. She had no choice but to continue following the crowd forward until she reached the lake, where she saw people selling paper lotus lanterns. Many people bought lotus lanterns and put them in the lake.
For a moment, the lake was filled with lotus lanterns emitting warm orange light, which was very beautiful.
"Girl, buy a lantern, make a wish and put it in the lake. It will come true!" The old man setting up the stall greeted Mingyu warmly.
Mingyu smiled, touched her body and shook her head. She had left her purse with Xu Mingye and now she had no money at all.
Just when Mingyu was about to refuse, a white and slender hand holding a lotus lantern was presented to her. Mingyu looked up in surprise and saw Prince Qin standing beside her, looking at her, as cold as jade.