"What's going on? What's going on? Are you causing trouble? You want to get sued, right?" Three patrolling yamen runners in dark green clothes shouted, pushing through the crowd and entering the eaves of the teahouse.
Mingyu saw it and secretly cried out inwardly, "Oh no!" If she was taken back to the government office for trial, their entire family would be investigated, and her true identity would be impossible to hide. Sima Hong would be humiliated, and she couldn't escape either. Probably everyone would know that she went shopping with Sima Hong, and she would be in a lot of trouble.
“It’s nothing, we’re just… joking!” Mingyu whispered.
Strictly speaking, patrol officers are not officials, but only minor officials. However, for ordinary people, these people are basically the people in power that they can get in touch with. The storyteller and his gang of ruffians were a little timid. They were impatient to make a clear judgment on such a trivial matter and would definitely give each of them fifty lashes of the board as a warning. They immediately smiled and said, "It's okay, it's okay. I was just joking with this brother!"
"What's going on?" The patrolling yamen officer was impatient. They were blind and couldn't tell what was going on!
The hooligans still have a lot of awe for these yamen runners who hold the power over their survival. There is no benefit in offending the patrolling yamen runners. If they say you are not allowed to stay in this area, you will not be allowed to stay there and your job will be directly cut off.
"It was them... They were mean to my son and wanted to hit him. I couldn't stand it, so I said a few words to this young master." The leading hooligans smiled.
The yamen runner looked Sima Hong up and down. He was a stranger and he didn't recognize him. He was not one of those dandy young men who often got into trouble. Judging from his clothes and appearance, he seemed to be a disciple of a wealthy family. There was also a delicate and beautiful young girl behind him. The runner immediately understood that he must have come out with his lover for a secret meeting.
"What do you say?" The bailiff looked at Sima Hong.
Mingyu smiled very reluctantly, "Actually... he was arguing with me, but he accidentally scared the kid. We are very sorry, it's really nothing."
"Why is he arguing with you?" the bailiff asked in confusion. Seeing how well the young master protects the girl, he doesn't seem to care about her. And seeing how pretty the girl is, who would be willing to argue with her
Sima Hong snorted and sighed, looking like he was filled with deep hatred and resentment. "What else can we quarrel about? The date has been set, the betrothal gifts have been given, but her family still refuses to agree and wants to cancel the engagement. Now that it's almost time, they're asking for an extra fifty taels of silver as a betrothal gift for her mentally ill brother to marry off. Isn't this extortion!"
Mingyu's mouth opened as wide as everyone else's. Oh my god! Who has set a date with you? Who is blackmailing you for the gift? Most importantly, whose brother is mentally ill? If Xu Mingye heard this, he would definitely fight you to the death. What he said sounded like the truth.
"That's why she insisted on asking me out today. She kept talking about the fifty taels of silver on the street. Isn't it annoying? Brother, please judge for me. Does she want to live with me or with her brother? She can't even listen to a story without feeling at ease. Who can stand it? I couldn't help it and yelled at her twice." Sima Hong continued.
The yamen runner immediately looked at the nobleman with sympathy, and couldn't help but say to Mingyu: "Miss, you are a smart person. I advise you not to always think about your family. If you marry this young man, you will be his family. You will live together in the future. All the money will be used to help your family. Won't you two have a hard time in the future? Aren't you the one who will suffer? When you get married, it will be too late to help your brother!"
Mingyu was so moved by the yamen runner's earnest words that she almost wanted to spit blood on Sima Hong's face. Just keep on bragging!
"Brother, it's not that I'm greedy for his money!" Mingyu smiled bitterly and spoke, "He always brags about how rich his family is, and he dresses so beautifully, but he's not even willing to give my brother fifty taels of silver for marrying a wife. He's so stingy! He takes me out on weekdays, but he never even buys me rouge and powder. On the day of engagement, when he was collecting the betrothal gifts, I finally saw something from him. He brought me an old gold bracelet and said it was a betrothal gift. My mother took it to the silver shop to make me a set of gold jewelry for my wedding. Unexpectedly, the master said it was brass plated with a layer of gold! After grinding off the gold powder, you can even see the rusty verdigris inside the bracelet! My parents raised me up, and he wants to leave with a brass bracelet plated with gold. I asked him for fifty taels of silver to marry my brother. Is that too much?"
Sima Hong's eyes widened. His wife was quite capable in fighting. She was no worse than him at lying and she was very good at it!
The yamen runner immediately became alert. The people around him looked at Sima Hong with contempt. The yamen runner pulled Mingyu over, glanced at Sima Hong, and whispered, "Girl, do you know his background? Don't be fooled by him! Nowadays, many people pretend to be rich young men and deceive the girls of good families to sell them."
Now it was Mingyu's turn to be embarrassed. Seeing that the kind-hearted yamen runner was about to take Sima Hong back to the yamen to interrogate him, she quickly said, "I know that. His grandfather and I had some friendship. I've been to his house... I've met his grandmother, his parents, his brother, and his sister-in-law."
The bailiff was relieved then and reminded Mingyu, "It's better to be cautious!" He stepped forward and patted Sima Hong on the shoulder and said, "Brother, this is where you are wrong. Your brother-in-law is in trouble, and as his husband you should help him if you can! We are all family, shouldn't relatives help each other? Talk to your wife, you are getting married soon, how can you break up over such a small matter?" Seeing that the jade pendant on the young master was worth more than fifty taels, he was really stingy. However, fifty taels of silver was not a small amount of money, and it was possible that those stingy people were unwilling to pay.
Help me! Sima Hong cursed in his heart. Just because Xu Mingye had such bad intentions and had betrayed him yesterday? Sima Hong spoke up, feeling very aggrieved. "Brother, it's not that I don't want to help her. You said she could ask me to help her, but she just kept on being arrogant and acted like she didn't want to marry me. She has already agreed to the marriage with my family and accepted the betrothal gifts. Her family wants to arrange another marriage for her recently and wants to cancel the marriage between me and her. Who would be willing to help? She doesn't treat me as her husband, but as a sucker!"
Everyone looked at Mingyu in condemnation, and Mingyu sighed again, "Brother, you don't know, there is a reason why I don't want to marry him. He is not only stingy! He has long had his eyes on my maid. After the engagement, he asked me in a roundabout way if my maid would come with the dowry so that he could take her in as his concubine. Do you think I can marry him willingly?"
Hey! I didn't expect this handsome young man to be a sex-hungry ghost...
Now even the ruffians who had been looking for trouble in the first place were unhappy. They stood with their hands on their hips and scolded Sima Hong, "Young man, you look like a decent man, but why are you so dirty-minded! You have such a beautiful wife, but you are still greedy!" This is too much. How can they feel when they are honest, reliable, simple and kind bachelors cannot find wives
This time it was Sima Hong's turn to vomit blood. He knew that this girl was a vengeful person, but he didn't expect her to be so vengeful. He had sent Zhuxiang away for who knows how long, but this girl still couldn't forget about it and would use it to stab him when she got the chance.
The bailiff was really speechless now. Two weirdos got together, one was greedy for money, the other was lustful. Forget it, he couldn't take care of this family affair.
"Since it's just a verbal dispute between the two of you, let it go. In the future, you should pay attention to the impact and don't make noise in the street." The bailiff straightened his face, taught a few people a lesson, and then left.
After the bailiff left, Sima Hong took out a piece of silver, sighed and put it in the ruffian's hand, saying, "Buy some candy for your son." Just as he was about to take Mingyu away, he turned around and asked, "You told the story of Lord Sima as if you had seen it with your own eyes. Do you recognize Lord Sima?"
The hooligans collectively shook their heads, "We are just poor common people, how can we recognize the marquis!"
Sima Hong said with a bitter face, "Even if you don't recognize me, you can't cheat me!" And eighteen concubines... Look at Mingyu's irritated expression, she wants to settle all the old scores!
Mingyu held back her laughter and walked away holding hands with Sima Hong. The remaining ruffians looked at each other in bewilderment. What nonsense was that young master talking about? They made up that story because they admired Lord Sima. Besides, he was quite popular!
The storyteller took a break and then started his storytelling again. He clapped his hands, sang a tune, and then began, "Today I will tell you about the famous young Marquis of Anxi who was feared by the whole Chu!" After receiving a round of applause, he continued, "The young Marquis of Anxi is nine feet tall, with a nose like a hanging gallbladder, eyes like copper bells, and a majestic beard..."
Fortunately, Sima Hong had already gone far away, otherwise he would have definitely run back to settle accounts with this group of people if he had heard about it.
After leaving the market, there were fewer and fewer pedestrians on the road. Mingyu's hand was still held by Sima Hong. Mingyu lowered her head and glanced at their hands from time to time. She blushed a little and thought that in fact, once you get used to this kind of thing, you won't feel embarrassed about it.
"Are you still angry with my brother?" Mingyu asked.
Sima Hong smiled and said, "I am not such a petty person!"
Mingyu snorted. She had been cursing Xu Mingye in all her words just now. It would be strange if she wasn't angry.
Sima Hong held Mingyu's hand tightly and said softly, "As long as you have me in your heart, I have nothing else to ask for." He didn't care what Xu Mingye and Mrs. Xu Changqian did to him. He just treated them as Mingyu's family and treated them with respect and courtesy.
Sima Hong looked particularly good in the sunlight, with a fit and well-proportioned figure, full of strong and mature masculine charm. Mingyu was stunned for a moment.
"Will your parents be at home tomorrow? I will go to your house to propose marriage." Sima Hong said softly.
Mingyu shook her head and said with a red face, "Wait a little longer." Xu Mingye's wedding and Lian Jie'er's wedding are both this month, so they are too busy. Search for Shushu*wu on Baidu, Shu*shuwu is hand-typed, and Shu$shu$wu provides TXT download of this book.
Sima Hong was a little disappointed, but he quickly hid his disappointment and continued to walk slowly forward with Mingyu.