Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 489: Good News

Mrs. Li looked at the visitor's changed expression with satisfaction, and continued: "We are orphans and widows in the Shen family, and we are still hoping that after Yuzhi marries, her in-laws will help the Shen family."

"I don't know if your family is willing. If so, the two families should sit down and discuss how to finalize the marriage."

"By the way, we have a dowry here. How much do you plan to give us as a gift?"

"Hey, hey, don't go, why are you leaving so fast? Let's discuss it!"

Li chased the visitor and stood on the steps at the entrance of the inn, calling out to him eagerly. If you didn't know, you would think she was sending off some important guest.

She saw the person who came disappeared in a flash, so she said "pah" on the ground in disgust and turned back to the front yard listlessly.

In the front hall, Shen Yu, who had been hiding in the side room and eavesdropping, came out with a smile when he saw the visitor leave.

Li was a little depressed. After all, she had her eyes on this man, but she didn't expect that she had misjudged him.

Shen Yu knew that Li was not happy, so she quickly poured a cup of tea and brought it to Li, saying with a smile, "Thank you for your hard work, mother. You talked so much with that man."

Although Li did as Shen Yu said and successfully scared the man away, she felt very frustrated.

She said angrily, "The scholar's family only wanted the dowry, which shows that they have evil intentions. If it were my temper, I would beat them out with a big stick."

"Why do you want me to greet you with a smile and talk to you in a nice way?"

"You still insist that I tell you that you only have 20 taels of dowry and you are eager to marry into his family?"

"Wouldn't it be ruining your reputation if you did that?"

Shen Yu patiently explained to Li: "Mother, you were the one who begged me to see you, and I said yes, but you refused."

"If a merchant girl rejects a newly promoted scholar, isn't that a slap in their face?"

"This kind of person cares most about his reputation. How can I not feel bad when I hurt his reputation in front of him like this?"

"We are open for business, and our shop is in the open. What if they hold a grudge against us and try to cause trouble for us in secret?"

"This kind of scoundrel should not be beaten or scolded. He has a scholar in his family who is famous. Why bother to mess with this kind of family?"

"Just cry poor and act miserable, let them think there is no money to be made in our family, and leave on their own initiative, wouldn't that save them trouble?"

Li held the teacup in her hand and thought blankly for a while before she came to her senses and said awkwardly, "Mother is a straightforward person. There is no way she has so many twists and turns in her mind."

"It's better this way. It saves a lot of trouble."

After she finished speaking, she couldn't help but sigh again and said in frustration: "Yuzhi, this time, mother believed what others said and chose such a scoundrel who looks good but is actually rotten inside, and almost hurt you again."

"I really don't know if you will get into trouble again if you get married and leave here without your mother by her side to guide you."

In fact, what Shen Yu was most worried about was Li.

Although she is not a bad person, she always thinks things simply and sometimes makes mistakes when she is impulsive.

Although he has improved a bit in dealing with people after coming to the county town, he is still straightforward and easily suffers losses and gets into trouble.

Usually, Li was fine because Shen Yu was watching over her and advising her. But if Shen Yu was not around, Jiang and the others would not be able to take care of Li like they did, which made people feel uneasy.

This is also the most important reason why Shen Yu wants to continue managing the restaurant and inn after getting married.

Thinking of this, Shen Yu smiled and comforted her, "Don't worry, mother. Even after I get married, I will come here every day to work. I will still be by your side."

Li hesitated to speak, worried that Shen Yu would not be able to find a husband with such a request.

Even if Mr. Lu is a man with a good temper, he would not like his wife to stay at her parents' home every day.

As the mother and daughter were talking, someone from the third scholar's family came over.

This time it was good news. The scholar's family sent a kind-looking lady over, and brought a pair of silver hairpins with plum blossom patterns.

When Li saw the pair of shiny yet light little silver hairpins, she thought of the pair of Ruyi hairpins made of pure gold and inlaid with rubies that Shen Yu had rejected.

I couldn't help but sigh in my heart: "I don't know if Yuzhi is so lucky and can still wear the pair of Ruyi hairpins."

Seeing that Li was in a daze, Shen Yu, who was standing next to her, coughed lightly to remind Li. Only then did Li come to his senses and quickly perked up to greet the visitor.

Li politely rejected the silver hairpin and said with a smile: "Thank you for your kindness. Since you like it, let's arrange a date for us to meet. Once you like it, I will accept the hairpin from your family."

It is the custom here for both parties to look at each other.

The hairpin sent by the man's family was just a token of recognition, and being rejected was inevitable.

The lady said a few polite words and took back the hairpin. Then the two of them made an appointment to go to Qingzhu Tea House not far away to have tea together the next day.

At that time, Li will take Shen Yu to meet this scholar.

On the second day, Li and Shen Yu came to Qingzhu Teahouse at the agreed time.

The scholar who was being seen today was named Zhu. He was sitting there waiting with the lady who came yesterday.

After the two sides met and exchanged greetings, they sat down. Shen Yu looked at this scholar Zhu. He was very fair-skinned, tall and thin, neatly dressed, and had decent manners.

At first glance, everything about her is good, except that her peach blossom eyes could be a little more lively.

As soon as Shen Yu entered the room, he kept glancing around secretly.

Shen Yu sat down calmly and looked at the man, but the man pretended to be serious and avoided his gaze.

When Shen Yu stopped looking at him, he found that the man was secretly glancing at him again, which made him feel unhappy.

The lady next to him was Zhu Xiucai's aunt, and the ladies of the two families were chatting enthusiastically.

Li seemed to be very satisfied with this scholar Zhu.

Moreover, Li suggested that the two families get to know each other for a while before making a decision. Shen Yu wanted to continue to take care of the restaurant and inn business after getting married and did not want to stay at home after getting married.

Mr. Zhu agreed to all of them readily.

They also said that Miss Shen was very filial, and that as the eldest sister, her younger brothers and sisters were young and it was her duty to take care of them.

Li was so delighted that she completely forgot about Lu Lang, who was far away in the capital, studying hard for the imperial examination. She became more and more pleased as she looked at Zhu Xiucai.

Shen Yu always felt uncomfortable.

I unconsciously compared Lu Lang with this Mr. Zhu. The more I compared them, the more I felt that Mr. Zhu's peach blossom eyes and honey-like mouth made people feel unhappy.

Seeing that Li was happily chatting with that lady, Shen Yu felt a little depressed for a moment, and he didn't know what he was unhappy about.

But she was already thinking in her mind that when she got home she would tell Li that she didn't like Mr. Zhu and it would be better for them not to have any contact with each other.