Chapter 35: Warm Man #1
Thinking of that chubby young man who smiled like sunshine on his face, Liu Lanfang’s nose turned sour again.
Back then, her parents were still alive, and she was still young. The children from the few families often played together, and she really liked Zhang Jiangqing…
After her parents passed away, she even thought: If she could marry him, she and her younger brother would have a place to call home.
It’s a pity… She knew that Zhang Jiangqing liked Ah Yu the most.
“Ah Fang, what about your uncle?”
“Uncle… My maternal grandfather disliked my uncle for being incompetent, but he was very good to my mother. When my mother got married, she was given a lot of dowry. My uncle and aunt made a big fuss, even making my maternal grandparents sick. Later, when my grandparents passed away, my mother went back for the funeral, and they even tried to fight with my mother in front of the coffin! When my parents died, they didn’t even come!”
“…” Wen Yu was also helpless. “Then do you have any property in your hands now?”
Lanfang shook her head. “After my parents passed away, my elder uncle took over the property. My aunt said she would keep the valuables for me first, and took them away. There were some everyday items, but I found them insufficient for my brother’s food and medical expenses… I was too lazy to talk to my aunt, so I added more money into it. Currently, I don’t have much left in my hands.” She smiled bitterly.
“Sigh, if only there were, you could transfer some of it out and hide it. Even if you get married, you can’t take everything to your husband’s family. When everything is settled…”
Lanfang was disheartened. “My father passed away suddenly and didn’t have time to explain anything. When my mother passed away, I was still young… It’s all…” As she was thinking, her eyes suddenly lit up. “Ah Yu, you just reminded me! Before my mother passed away, she once told me that next to her estate, there was a loyal servant of my grandmother, who lived there with her paralyzed son. My mother left something for me and my brother there!”
Tears streamed down her face, and she was very excited. “Yes, yes! My mother was sick and afraid that she would die early, and my father would remarry, and my brother and I would be mistreated by our stepmother… She told me that she had left something for us without telling my father, but I completely forgot! Oh my God! Mother…”
She burst into tears. “I was still young then… I didn’t understand what it meant. Ah Yu, my mother… I miss my mother!”
Wen Yu quickly comforted her in a low voice, but Liu Lanfang couldn’t control herself when she thought of her mother still thinking about her and her brother while she was sick, and then thought about what they had been through all these years. She buried her face in Wen Yu’s arms and cried bitterly.
Although Liu Lanzhou was not looking at them, he knew his sister was crying. He looked nervous and started to tremble.
Yan Zhu quickly called out, “Miss Lanfang, don’t cry! Don’t scare Lanzhou!”
Wen Yu gently hugged her. “Stop crying.”
Liu Lanfang quickly wiped away her tears and smiled at her brother. “Sister is just playing with Sister Yu! It’s okay.”
Liu Lanzhou was unhappy and pursed his lips. Yan Zhu hurriedly showed him the pouch that Wen Yu had made for Lanfang…
Wen Yu said, “Your mother is protecting you and your brother from heaven! It’s a good thing you didn’t remember, otherwise, the news might have leaked out…”
“Yes, yes, even my father doesn’t know about this… Ah Yu, do you have a place to keep it for me? I’m worried that my aunt will find out when she arranges my marriage and checks my dowry…” She glanced at Wen Yu again with a wry smile. “Look at me, you can’t even take care of yourself!”
“Don’t underestimate me! I’m different from before.” After Wen Yu finished speaking, her face turned cold. “Before my father left for the capital, he wanted to give me my mother’s dowry. That way, I would have my own place. Is your thing bulky? I will arrange it!”
“I don’t know what’s there.”
“It doesn’t matter, just transfer the important things away.” Wen Yu thought as she spoke. “It’s just that I don’t have many people on hand now. I’ll ask Zhang Jiangqing later. If there’s any news, I’ll contact you immediately. When you go home, be discreet. If there’s a way, delay the engagement.”
Liu Lanfang nodded slightly.
The two held hands and talked for a long time.
Seeing that Liu Lanzhou was yawning, she said, “He’s sleepy, I’ll take him back to the carriage first. I’m leaving everything to you.”
“Hmm, Ah Fang, I know things are tough, but we don’t have parents to dote on us, so we have to be strong. Be patient, grit your teeth, and maybe you’ll get through it. Be careful, and also try to be optimistic…”
“I know.”
Wen Yu escorted them to the second gate and watched Lanfang’s figure walking away, supporting her brother… She couldn’t help but cry.
There was a Madam W*ng who had been acquainted with Liu Lanfang’s mother. She had an unmarried younger son at home, and out of consideration for the past friendship, she wanted Liu Lanfang to be her daughter-in-law. Just now, she had expressed her wish to marry her to Eldest Madam Liu.
As a result, Eldest Madam Liu pretended not to understand and said to Madam W*ng, “My second younger brother only has these two children, and I treat them even better than my own children. Sigh, Lanzhou is not in good health, and as for Ah Fang, I can’t bear to let her marry outside! My nephew from my maternal family is ambitious…”
✿✿✿
The sound of footsteps interrupted Wen Yu’s melancholy.
Turning her head, she saw Yan Zhu and a tall, slightly chubby man standing there.
Wen Yu was taken aback. He had grown so tall!
Zhang Jiangqing stood respectfully outside the pavilion. His clothes were neat but not luxurious. His hair was neatly t*ed up, and seeing Wen Yu looking at him, he came forward and bowed.
With thick eyebrows, pitch-black eyes, and a warm smile like the sun, a dimple appeared on his right cheek.
“Ah Yu!” His voice was gentle with a hint of joy.
Wen Yu stood up. “Brother Jiangqing, how are you!?”
“Good! I’m very good. Ah Yu… you…” The words “so beautiful” almost blurted out, but he stopped in time and despised himself for a moment, changing his words to, “You asked your maid to come find me, I…” The words “was very happy” couldn’t be said again. He coughed and said, “Uh… I haven’t congratulated you yet…”
Oh dear, it’s her elder brother who’s getting married, what am I congratulating her for?
He lost the composure he had managed to maintain with great difficulty and blushed deeply.
How could she not know about his affection?
The Zhang family had excellent family traditions. Magistrate Zhang was honest and upright, Madam Zhang was generous and kind, and the younger sister Zhang was innocent and pure. Even his cousin Zhang Weiqing was very intelligent and steady.
In her previous life, if she could have married into the Zhang family, it would have been a lifetime of happiness.
But in this life… she had goals to achieve, and this was something Zhang Jiangqing couldn’t give her. It might even affect him, and even implicate the Zhang family!
✿✿✿
What she was going to do might not be tolerated by a family like the Zhang family.
So, Zhang Jiangqing, I’m sorry.
However, there were a few things she needed to do now, and he was the best candidate. She had asked him to come because she was taking advantage of his affection… The guilt only lasted for a moment. Wen Yu steeled herself. At worst, she would find a way to repay him in the future!
“Brother Jiangqing, please sit down!” Wen Yu smiled. “Lanfang brought Adi here just now.”
“Oh? Adi came too? Has he left?” Seeing that Wen Yu was very natural, Zhang Jiangqing relaxed a little and walked into the pavilion generously, taking a seat.
“Adi ate and drank, then got sleepy, so Lanfang took him away.”
Yan Zhu came over and said, “Miss, the bride has arrived!”
Seeing her eyes shining, Wen Yu said, “Go and watch the excitement! But don’t forget what I said, come back as soon as you finish watching.”
Yan Zhu ran off in a flash.
Zhang Jiangqing smiled and took out a brocade box. “It was your birthday two months ago, and I didn’t get the news that you were going to celebrate. I prepared a gift for you, but it wasn’t convenient to send it over specially. I… and my sister, both miss you!”
Wen Yu was touched. There were still people who had her in their hearts.
“Thank you, Brother Jiangqing.”
“Ah Yu, you don’t have to be so polite…”
“Brother Jiangqing, I heard you went to work at the government office?”
“Yes. Ah Yu, you know… I’m not as good at studying as my brothers. Father found me this job. I’m just doing the work for now, and I won’t get the official position until the end of the year. I like doing this kind of work, and I’ll definitely do it well. I believe it won’t be too bad in the future…” He laid the groundwork for Wen Yu.
“Hmm, I trust Magistrate Zhang’s judgment! Brother Jiangqing started working now, so he has more experience than others, and his abilities will gradually improve. These will support you in climbing higher. In the future, it may not be worse than the future of those who pass the imperial examination!”
Upon hearing this, Zhang Jiangqing’s eyes lit up, as if he had been showered with compliments. “That’s what my father said. Ah Yu, as a young lady from a respectable family, you have such a broad vision, it’s truly admirable!”
Wen Yu felt a little guilty and quickly changed the subject. “Brother Jiangqing, I asked you to come today because there are a few things I need your help with!?”
Ask me to do things?
A few things…
“Yes! Definitely!” Zhang Jiangqing was ecstatic.
“…” Wen Yu still felt guilty. “Hmm… one is about Hongdou, that is, Yan Zhu. It’s like this, back then, her mother followed my father back to the capital. They encountered a flood, and my grandmother saved her. But her husband disappeared, and she had nowhere to go. My mother kept her by her side, and out of sympathy for her, didn’t ask her mother to sign a contract of servitude.”
“Oh, is that so!”
“Yes, later my mother passed away, and so did her mother. Only Yan Zhu was left.”
“Didn’t her mother go to look for her husband’s family?”
“It’s said that her father’s family had some changes, which is why they ended up here. Strictly speaking, her father was a man who marries into his wife’s family. So, there wasn’t much point in going back. But Yan Zhu’s mother left her a piece of jade, saying it belonged to her father. Judging by its quality, it’s not an ordinary family’s item.”
“Yan Zhu has been with me and has also reached marriageable age. My uncle promised to recognize her as his adopted daughter. This is the proof written by my uncle, Brother Jiangqing. I would like to ask you to see if you can use this to register her residence. She is older than me, and I’m afraid my grandmother will treat her as a s*ave and marry her off casually.”
“Ah Yu, you’re not very old yourself, and you’re able to think of these things, it’s truly remarkable!” His face was full of admiration and appreciation.
“I’m an adult now. I’m bound to have more things to think about.”
Yes, an adult… My wish is about to come true! He said happily, “This matter shouldn’t be difficult. Give me this letter, and I’ll go and see what I can do.”
Wen Yu nodded and handed him the letter. “The second thing… Before my father went to the capital, he wanted to give me my mother’s dowry. After I receive it, I might need to re-plan it. There’s a shop here called Rainbow Phoenix Pavilion, and I really like the craftsmanship of Master Qing inside. I want to ask you to go and investigate her background. In case I want to open a shop in the future, I can find an opportunity to poach her.”
“…” She just said it out loud, about poaching someone?
Zhang Jiangqing had a new understanding of her.
It seems that she doesn’t consider me an outsider! He smiled so much that his eyes narrowed.
“Okay, Master Qing of Rainbow Phoenix Pavilion, I’ll remember that!”
“And then the third, it’s about Ah Fang…”
After Wen Yu carefully explained the matter, she took out the gold and silver that Guan S*i had given her. She really had to use these; she had nothing else on hand…
But Zhang Jiangqing refused to take it. The two pushed back and forth, but didn’t notice…
Behind the flower trees, someone was already furious…
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