By the time the three of them met up with the young master of the Fu family, Hong Fang'er was a little unhappy. She walked behind everyone, looking left and right. Although the lively time had passed, she still found it very novel.
After a while, Mingyu heard Hong Fang'er screaming from behind. Turning back, she saw Hong Fang'er touching her hair with a pale face, "My golden hairpin is gone!"
Looking closely at Hong Fang'er's hair bun, it was indeed bald, and the golden hairpin inlaid with pink pearls was gone.
"When did it fall? Do you still remember?" Mingyu asked.
Hong Fang'er thought for a long time with a pale face, shook her head, bit her lip and said, "When you just came back, I touched my head and it was still there."
That would take quite a while, Mingyu thought. There were many thieves on the street. Maybe the girl was so engrossed in watching the lanterns that someone took away the golden hairpin on her head. Or maybe it fell on the ground. With so many people around, she would definitely not be able to find it if she went back to look for it.
"What should I do?" Hong Fang'er was so anxious that she was about to cry.
Fu Lemei couldn't stand Hong Fang'er's behavior, otherwise she wouldn't have asked her two brothers to look after Hong Fang'er while she and Xu Mingye went out alone to look for Mingyu. Seeing Hong Fang'er's look, she pouted and said, "It's just a piece of jewelry, it's lost, there are so many people on the street, you won't be able to find it even if you go back and look for it."
Hong Fang'er was furious, her eyes red as she yelled at Fu Lemei: "What I lost was a golden hairpin, made of pure gold inlaid with pearls! Not a cheap brass-plated-gold one!"
Mingyu was stunned. It turned out that Miss Hong thought Fu Lemei was as worldly-wise as she was. But that was true. Miss Fu might have never seen any brass-plated gold jewelry.
Fu Lemei was choked and speechless. She had never met such a silly girl in her life. After a while, she pouted and said, "Who do you blame? I warned you before you left that there are many thieves on the street. You didn't take care of yourself, who do you blame?"
Hong Fanger looked back at the street she had just walked on. There were still many people there. She knew in her heart that there was basically no hope of finding it again, but she couldn't help but feel a wave of heartache, as if a piece of flesh had fallen off her body. She kept saying, "This was bought for me by my cousin. It would be such a pity to lose it! It's a golden hairpin weighing more than one tael!" Her face was full of reluctance.
Fu Lemei was impatient. She had a quick temper and was far from being as well-mannered as Mingyu. She directly sarcastically said to Hong Fanger, "Since your cousin has money, just ask him to buy you a new one." A broken hairpin is not worth much money, and you are still complaining!
Fu Lemei's third brother Fu Lejian glared at Fu Lemei and said to Hong Fang'er with a smile: "Don't be angry, Miss Hong. My sister is outspoken and doesn't know how to talk. It is common sense to spend money to avoid disasters, so just relax."
With a way out, Hong Fang'er had to give up. She came in joy and left unhappy, feeling very upset. When she thought of the lost golden hairpin, her heart felt like it was being cut by a knife. She kicked the stones on the roadside to vent her anger as she walked, muttering, "What disaster did I get? I'm just unlucky! Bah, bah, bah, my aunt is right. Staying with a divorced woman will bring bad luck!" Of course, she only dared to say the last few words in her heart and didn't dare let others hear them.
It was not until Lu Hao came to pick her up that Hong Fanger smiled when she saw her cousin. She told Lu Hao about the lost golden hairpin with a sad face. Lu Hao was helpless and frowned and said, "It's just a hairpin. I can buy it later." It was really embarrassing to be so shameful in front of so many people from the Fu family and the Xu family.
Hearing her cousin promise to buy her another one, Hong Fang'er instantly became happy again. She happily got into Lu Hao's carriage, said goodbye to Mingyu and the others, and left.
Fu Lemei whispered to Mingyu, "See? If you marry Lu Hao, you'll be unlucky to have a sister-in-law like this!"
Mingyu pinched Fu Lemei's fair and tender cheeks, shook her head and smiled. She had never planned to marry Lu Hao, but it seemed that the future Mrs. Lu would not be as comfortable and happy as she had imagined.
On the way back, Fu Lejian scolded his sister, "Look at you, you are so sharp-tongued and never let anyone off the hook. That's Lord Lu's relative, and you're allowed to say that?"
Fu Lemei curled her lips, "She is annoying and not presentable! She just came out to have fun, but she wanted to be covered in gold. If we hadn't followed her, thieves would have stolen her and left her with only her clothes!"
"It's her business that she can't show up in public. We've seen it and let it go. Why do we have to argue with her and make her lose face?" Fu Lejian shook his head helplessly, "With your temper, only Miss Xu can tolerate you! If you don't change, who will give in to you and tolerate you like we do when you go to your husband's family in the future?"
Fu Lemei blushed, and then she said with a stiff face, "What are you afraid of, Third Brother and Fourth Brother? Lu Hao is not a good person either. There are only demons and monsters in his house. One of you should bring Mingyu back to our house. She and I are best friends! Let her be my sister-in-law. I won't look for a husband and will stay at home all my life."
Fu Lejian and Fu Leyu's faces flushed at the same time. Fu Lejian was angry and amused. He patted his sister's shoulder and cursed in a low voice: "What nonsense are you talking about? If others hear it, it will ruin her reputation! Tell mother later and let her punish you!"
Fu Lemei smiled smugly, "Mother only punishes you, but she won't punish me!"
"Don't be so proud!" Fu Lejian pulled his sister's sleeve and said, "I'm not saying anything bad about you, but you're too close to Master Xu. If others see you, they'll gossip about you. Mother is busy looking for a husband for you these days. If rumors get out, what will you do?"
Fu Lemei looked a little unnatural, rubbing the handkerchief in her hand and lowering her head, she said, "How can we be close? It's because Mingyu and I are often together that I have more contact with Brother Xu."
The youngest, Fu Leyu, also spoke up, "We all saw this, and we said this for your own good. Your parents definitely won't want you to marry into the Xu family, so be obedient and don't meet Xu Mingye again."
Fu Lemei, who was smiling just now, had tears in her eyes and a sour nose in the blink of an eye, "Why? Brother Xu is a very nice person, Mingyu and Madam Xu are also easy to get along with...you..." She grew up as the only girl in the Fu family, and her family obeyed her in everything. However, when it came to major events in life, they didn't even ask for her opinion. She had made a fuss, felt wronged, and was angry, but to no avail.
Fu Leyu sighed, took the handkerchief from Fu Lemei's hand and wiped her sister's face, and said patiently: "You know in your heart how could your parents bear to marry you into the Xu family and let you suffer! You are the only girl in our family, and your parents just want you to have a good future."
"Take Xu Mingye for example. That guy knows what's going on. If he has this intention, why doesn't he come to our house to propose? I think he is either afraid of being rejected and losing face, so he waits for our family to bring it up first, or..." Having said that, Fu Lejian kept silent. He wanted to say that either Xu Mingye looked down on Fu Lemei and had no other thoughts about her, but his sister just had a one-sided love for her. However, think about it, how could this be possible? His sister is good in every way. Unless Xu Mingye is mentally ill, he would look down on Fu Lemei.
"What else? If they want a good future, they can go and do it themselves!" Fu Lemei sniffed, feeling very aggrieved, leaning on Fu Leyu and crying. For the first time in her life, this girl who had been smooth sailing and raised in a honeypot tasted such pain.
After returning home, Mrs. Xu knew that Mingyu had brought Lu Hao's cousin to travel together, and she quickly pulled Mingyu aside to ask about Miss Hong. Mingyu thought about it for a long time, but she couldn't remember what Hong Fang'er looked like. She only remembered the gold bracelet, gold earrings, and gold hairpins...
"A very noble man." Mingyu answered honestly. Of course, he is worth a lot of money!
Xu Mingye couldn't help but laughed out loud while leaning against the wall. He didn't expect that his sister was quite humorous.
Mrs. Xu was a little disappointed when she didn't get the information she wanted. Lu Hao hadn't been here for a while, and she didn't know whether this marriage could be done or not. There was no definite news. Mrs. Xu couldn't help feeling resentful as she was kept in suspense. Lu Hao was good, but Mingyu was the flesh and blood of her heart. She felt uncomfortable seeing someone pick and choose her like this. It would have been better for her not to propose this marriage in the first place, giving people hope but only making them happy for nothing.
When Hong Fang'er followed Lu Hao home, it was already late. Mrs. Lu and Lu Hao's aunt Mrs. Hong had already gone to bed. When they heard that the two men had returned, they hurriedly put on their clothes and got out of bed.
Mrs. Hong was sharp-eyed. She noticed that the golden hairpin that her daughter had put on her hair when she went out was gone. She asked hurriedly, "Fang'er, where is your golden hairpin? Where did you put it?"
It would have been fine if she hadn't mentioned it. Once she did, Hong Fang'er felt sad and scared. She burst into tears and her shoulders trembled. Lu Hao couldn't bear to see it, so he said, "Maybe there were too many people on the street and no one knew where it fell. It's not worth much anyway, just buy another one."
Since Lu Hao had said so, Mrs. Hong naturally had nothing to say. She just tapped Hong Fang'er's forehead vigorously and scolded: "I told you not to show off, now you are happy now that it is lost! Did your cousin's money come from the wind?" It is true that Lu Hao is rich, but after all, Lu Hao is not her biological son. Lu Hao's money is not her money. Now that the jewelry that Lu Hao bought for Fang'er is lost, it is like losing a large sum of money. Although she knows that Lu Hao will make up for the money in the end, she still can't help feeling distressed.
Mrs. Lu was naturally unhappy and sat there with a stern face. She was used to a hard life. When Lu Hao failed the imperial examination, he spent every penny carefully. Now he just threw away a valuable jewelry so easily. She didn't say anything because she was afraid of being called stingy, but she felt heartbroken in her heart.
"It's all Xu Mingyu's fault..." Hong Fang'er finished crying, and fearing that Mrs. Lu would scold her, she began to complain, "She disappeared just as we got to the street. We split up to look for her, but there were so many people there. I was in a hurry to find her, so I didn't pay attention. My aunt is right, a divorced woman is a jinx, whoever runs into her will be unlucky!"
"Shut up!" Lu Hao was so angry that he couldn't help but raise his voice. When he looked at Mrs. Lu, his voice dropped again and he said calmly, "Mom, don't say these words. It's not good for others to hear them."