It was noon in a blink of an eye. Mrs. Xu took a long rest, and after catching her breath, she made a fire in the backyard of the cloth shop and cooked lunch. When the meal was almost ready, Mrs. Xu asked Lixiang to go home and call the young master and Dongyuan to come for dinner.
However, after waiting for a long time, Lixiang brought back only Dongyuan. Although the two grew up together and knew each other very well, they were engaged at this meeting. There was an indescribable shyness and taboo between boys and girls. They walked on the road one in front of the other, separated by a distance of ten feet. Mingyu saw them from a distance and couldn't help laughing. If someone didn't know them, they would think that the two people so far away were strangers.
Not seeing her son coming over, Madam Xu asked Dong Yuan, "Where's the young master? Why didn't he come over?"
Dong Yuan said honestly: "I accompanied the young master out in the morning. When we arrived at a house, the young master asked me to go back first, saying that he might not be home at noon and asked us not to wait for him."
Xu Changqian shook his head and told the family to go to the table for dinner. Xu Mingye had just entered officialdom, so social engagements were inevitable. His son was older now, so there was no need to control him so closely. He had no objection to Xu Mingye spending more time with his colleagues.
After dinner, Xu Changqian was worried about Lu Hao asking Lord Gong to be the matchmaker tomorrow. He went to the government office to ask for leave in the afternoon and went directly to the office where Lu Hao was, but he did not find Lu Hao. The people in the office told him that Lu Hao had gone to the palace to meet the emperor and did not know when he would be back. Xu Changqian had no choice but to go back to his own government office first, and prepare to visit Lu's house in the evening with the gift Lu Hao had sent before, to make things clear, and not let Lord Gong come to the house.
Lixiang and Dongyuan carried Mingyu on both sides as they walked home. The incident in the morning scared the whole family. They were afraid that someone else would kidnap Mingyu. Mingyu didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so she had to walk obediently between the two people, like some kind of protected animal.
When passing by a silver shop, Mingyu and the other two ran into Hong Fanger who had just come out of the shop. Behind her was a maid and a servant. The servant was carrying dozens of bags of various sizes, as if he had just returned from a shopping spree.
Seeing Mingyu, Hong Fang'er was surprised and happy at the same time. She waved the handkerchief in her hand and smiled at Mingyu, "Sister Mingyu!"
Mingyu originally wanted to pretend that she hadn't seen her, but she didn't expect that she would call her directly on the street. She had no choice but to take two steps closer, nodded and smiled: "What a coincidence! You are here too."
Hong Fanger carefully looked at Mingyu from head to toe. Seeing that Mingyu was not as well dressed as she was, and did not have as many jewels as she did. Nor were they as valuable as hers, she could not help but curl up her lips. She enthusiastically took Mingyu's hand and said, "I've been out all afternoon. I'm tired, Sister Mingyu. Let's go to the teahouse across the street and sit down. You can talk to me!"
After that, regardless of whether Mingyu agreed or not, he took Mingyu to the teahouse opposite, asked for a box facing the street, and sat down. It was not Hong Fanger's fault that she was too enthusiastic about Mingyu. In fact, she had few friends in Beijing. Rich ladies like Fu Lemei looked down on her petty and unpresentable appearance. After being in Beijing for so long, Hong Fanger wisely discovered that Xu Mingyu was the kindest to her.
The servant who followed Hong Fang'er to carry the things was originally going to stand outside with Lixiang and Dongyuan. Hong Fang'er hesitated, pointed at the servant and said, "Wait, put the things I bought here first." These things are worth a lot of money. If they are left outside and someone is jealous and snatches them away, she will be so sad. She still has to put them in front of her to feel at ease.
The servant did as he was told and put the dozens of heavy bags on his shoulders on the chairs in the box. At this moment, the waiter brought a pot of tea. Hong Fanger smiled and poured tea for Mingyu, saying proudly, "Sister Mingyu, try it. I asked them to serve the best tea here."
Mingyu glanced at the maids and servants standing outside the box, called Lixiang in, gave her a dozen copper coins, and said, "Go buy a pot of tea for you guys to drink."
After Li Xiang left and closed the door of the private room, Hong Fang'er curled her lips and said to Mingyu, "She's just a servant. Just give her a meal. Why buy her tea?!"
Mingyu smiled, said nothing, and slowly shook the steaming purple clay cup in her hand.
Hong Fang'er didn't care about Mingyu's attitude. Before meeting Mingyu, she disliked Mingyu very much because of Mrs. Lu's exaggeration. However, when she came into contact with Mingyu, she found that this woman who was regarded as a scourge by her aunt was not as unbearable as she imagined. When she met the rich lady Fu Lemei, she found that Mingyu was really a very easy-going person. At this time, she was quite inclined to let Mingyu marry her cousin. At least Mingyu was kind and good-tempered, and rich ladies were all like Fu Lemei. In the future, when she became a concubine, she would have to beg for food from the wife of the main house. If the wife of the main house was like Fu Lemei, wouldn't she be tortured to death
"Come here, Sister Mingyu, come and see what I bought!" Hong Fang'er pulled Mingyu and happily opened the package on the chair, showing off the good things she bought one by one. Mingyu took a quick look and saw that they were nothing more than some clothes and jewelry. Along with Hong Fang'er's chattering, her good mood was ruined.
Mingyu forced a smile, but it was a little impatient. Not everyone had the patience to listen to a nouveau riche showing off his wealth.
Seeing that Hong Fang'er was getting more and more excited, after explaining how rare and valuable these things were, she began to talk about the jewelry she had kept at home and had not worn out. Mingyu could no longer bear it and said with a smile: "Ms. Hong, I have something else to do. I will leave first."
Hong Fang'er, who was in high spirits, was stunned for a moment, then she pulled Mingyu and said, "Hey, Sister Mingyu, it's still early, don't leave!" Seeing that Mingyu just smiled and said nothing, Hong Fang'er approached Mingyu mysteriously and said, "Do you know? My cousin is going to your house to propose marriage tomorrow."
Mingyu looked at Hong Fang'er, and couldn't make up her mind for a while, how to tell her. After all, Hong Fang'er was not Lu Hao nor Mrs. Lu. As a person of an outsider, it would be useless to tell her anything extra.
Seeing Mingyu didn't say anything, Hong Fang'er took Mingyu's arm affectionately, looking like a good sister, and said with a smile: "I'll tell you everything. My cousin asked Lord Gong to be the matchmaker! Lord Gong is a very high-ranking official. I heard that my cousin is very respectful to him. Don't worry, my aunt has agreed. See, my cousin thinks highly of you and insists on marrying you, and my aunt has no choice but to agree!"
After hesitating for a while, Mingyu suppressed the emotions in her heart and smiled lightly: "I was just about to tell you... I'm still young, and my family wants to keep me for two more years. I won't consider marriage for the time being. When you go back, talk to your cousin and ask him not to invite Master Gong."
Hong Fang'er thought Mingyu was angry because her aunt didn't give her face last time at Prince Li's mansion. Now she heard that Lu Hao had asked Lord Gong to be the matchmaker and the marriage was set in stone, so she became angry. "Hey, what's the point of you saying these angry words? I know my aunt didn't give you face last time and made you unhappy. Didn't she agree?"
"I'm not angry." Mingyu said seriously.
Hong Fanger giggled, "Don't worry, this is between you and me, I won't tell anyone else. My aunt is old-fashioned, just ignore her." In her excitement, Hong Fanger couldn't control her words, "Besides, my cousin is such a good person, it's hard to find someone like you, if you miss him, you won't be able to find anything good."
Mingyu smiled and suppressed her unhappiness. See, everyone thought that she should kneel humbly on the ground, thanking Lu Hao for not caring about her past, and marrying into the Lu family on her knees was in line with her identity and status.
She accidentally said what was in her heart. Seeing Mingyu's unhappy expression, Hong Fang'er realized that she had said the wrong thing. She quickly pulled Mingyu's arm and said with a flattering smile: "Actually, I really like you and really want you to be my cousin's wife. I have met so many young ladies, and I just get along with you and I think you are good too."
Mingyu pushed away Hong Fanger's hand that was wrapped around her arm. She was not used to standing too close to strangers. She smiled and said, "Ms. Hong, do you really like me and want me to be your cousin's wife?"
"Of course!" Hong Fang'er answered sincerely. There is no one more suitable than Xu Mingyu.
Mingyu smiled, looked at Hong Fang'er who looked sincere, and said, "Ms. Hong, although I am a divorced woman, I am a delicate person with a ruthless temper. I swore earlier that my husband must not have other women besides me, no matter if they are concubines or mistresses kept outside, I will not allow him to have any. If he dares to bring one in, I will beat him to death."
Hong Fanger was stunned. Mingyu laughed happily. She exhaled and shrugged her shoulders. Anyway, the laws of the Great Chu clearly stipulated that a concubine was just a slave. The wife could kill or sell her at will without being held accountable by the law. She really planned to do so. She didn't want to suffer a loss and sulk again if she married again. This Hong Fanger, who called her cousin affectionately, completely regarded the Lu family as her own home. She was 100% aiming to be Lu Hao's concubine. And judging from Lu Hao's attitude towards her, it was tacit understanding.
After a while, Hong Fang'er came back to her senses. She couldn't believe that Mingyu, a quiet and good-tempered person, could say such outrageous words. Judging from Mingyu's expression, she didn't seem to be joking.
"You, aren't you afraid that my cousin will divorce you?" Hong Fang'er was shocked and angry. Who did she think she was? She dared to beat the concubine to death. If she dared to do anything out of line, her cousin, who was so powerful, would definitely send her away with a divorce letter!
"What's there to be afraid of?" Mingyu smiled, calm and nonchalant, and said in a very mature manner, "I'm different from you unmarried girls. I don't worry about too much debt, and I don't feel itchy when I have too many lice. Anyway, I've been divorced once, so if I'm divorced again... it doesn't matter!"
Hong Fanger's eyes widened, looking at Mingyu in disbelief, "You...you..." She was speechless. This kind of person is so shameless that he is not even afraid of being divorced. What else can she be afraid of? She thought, why is she so confused and confused that she thinks Xu Mingyu is good? What's good about her? No one is more cruel than her!