Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 488 The meeting has a result

Shen Yu was stunned, and could only nod and smile: "I understand."

Qi Xi scratched his head and said in embarrassment: "Then will Miss Shen agree or not? What can I tell the young master when I go back?"

Mother Huang was a little embarrassed. She hurriedly tugged at Qixi's sleeve and scolded him with a smile, "You little brat, you are usually quite smart and well-behaved. What happened to you today?"

"Are you going to ask Miss Shen to promise something in front of so many people? She is a girl..."

But Qixi interrupted Huang Madam stubbornly and said, "But the young master said that we must ask clearly."

"No ambiguity or equivocation is allowed. Let everyone bear witness."

"Otherwise, he can't feel at ease."

Then he mumbled in defense, "This concerns the young master's future and marriage. When I came here, I was told so many times that I dare not be careless."

Everyone felt a little embarrassed and thought that Mr. Lu had read too many books and was a little stupid. How could he let a girl make a promise in front of so many people?

It is true that like master, like servant.

This 7-Up is also a silly and stupid guy.

After hearing Qi Xi's question, Shen Yu did not show the shyness that a girl should have as everyone expected.

Qi Xi has always been a smart person, but this time he deliberately acted rude and didn't know the rules, and asked questions on behalf of Lu Lang in public.

Shen Yu only had to think about it in his mind and he saw through Lu Lang's little thoughts.

Isn't it just that he deliberately expressed his feelings in front of everyone in order to make this matter true? If he really fails to pass the imperial examination, he will use this to force Old Master Lu to surrender.

Scholars care about their reputation and gentlemen value their promises. I wonder what expression Old Master Lu would have when he knew his grandson was like this.

Shen Yu secretly laughed in his heart: "Well, old fox and little fox, let's see who can win."

"I will cooperate with you today. Who asked the old man to bully his grandson like this? Humph."

She looked at Qi Xi with a half-smile, which made Qi Xi feel guilty. He avoided her gaze and dared not look at her again.

Shen Yu nodded, and said in a serious and straightforward manner: "Go back and tell your young master that I know. I'm waiting for his good news in Anping County. Just let him prepare for the exam with peace of mind."

Qi Xi jumped up with joy after hearing this, and bowed to Shen Yushen: "Thank you, young lady."

Then he pulled Huang's mother and said, "Mom, let's go. Let's go back to Beijing as soon as possible so that the young master can prepare for the exam with peace of mind."

Mother Huang hadn't figured out what was going on yet. She could only say "oh, oh" twice and then bowed to everyone and said goodbye.

The two of them got on the carriage and hurried away with the Li family's group of people seeing them off.

Two days passed in the blink of an eye, and the meeting finally came to a conclusion.

Among the three gentlemen, the merchant family did not like Shen Yu.

It’s not that there’s anything wrong with Shen Yu.

But the lady of that family was a merchant family. Although her family had considerable assets, she felt sorry that her son had to follow in his father's footsteps and was still a merchant who was looked down upon by officials.

Therefore, I have higher expectations for girls from educated families.

When he was dating by the Peach Blossom Lake, he fell in love with the daughter of a scholar. He felt that although the girl did not dare to raise her head when she spoke and was not generous enough, she was very gentle and respectful, and came from a noble family.

Compared to a merchant's daughter like Shen Yu, she is much better in the eyes of that lady.

So within two days, he had rushed to the scholar's house to present a small betrothal gift, and Shen Yu, on his part, sent a piece of colorful satin as a token of his gratitude.

Li did not feel disappointed because she had Lu Lang as the best candidate. She just waited patiently for the responses from the other two families.

Two days later, the family of one of the scholars sent someone to bring a message, asking how much dowry the Shen family would give if Miss Shen married.

Will the restaurant and the inn be Miss Shen's dowry at that time? If so, there is no need to trouble Miss Shen to look for one anymore. Their family will place the engagement immediately.

Li couldn't help but frown after hearing this. Why was he so impatient to ask about the dowry? Was he going to marry her daughter or take her dowry?

She was worried whether this was the custom in Anping County, so she didn't say anything on the spot. She smiled and told the visitor to go back first, saying that she would get back to her the next day.

After the visitor left, she hurriedly told everyone about the matter and asked Zheng Sanniang about the local marriage customs.

Zheng Sanniang's face flushed when she heard this, and she said angrily, "How could this happen? It really brings shame to the people of Anping County."

"Traditionally, dowries are managed and used by women themselves. How can one ask how much dowry he can bring before entering the house?"

"This family must have bad intentions."

Doctor Sun has been coming over these days to ask about Shen Yu's marriage. He also said, "This matter is very strange. Sister-in-law of the Shen family, please don't reply to his family yet. I will go and find out first."

Since Doctor Sun opened his clinic, his network of contacts has expanded as he got to know more and more people.

But after half a day, he came back with an angry look on his face: "This family is so dishonest. They are a family of scholars after all. Ugh."

"Although this young man has passed the imperial examination and looks very handsome, he is actually not like that at all."

"He has been studying for many years, following that group of classmates, and has learned all the habits of a playboy. He loves to play and show off, and spends money like water."

"He is the only child in the family. As long as he is willing to study, he will be granted whatever he asks for."

"After a few years of this, the family looked fine from the outside, but in fact they had already lost a lot of money and were in debt."

"I heard that his family only cares about the dowry from the girl's family when getting married. This time, he is eager to get his daughter-in-law married so that he can use her dowry to make up for the deficit and pay off the debt."

Li's face turned pale with fear when she heard this. She cried out, "How could this be? When I asked around, everyone said that the young man was a very good person, and the ladies around him all praised him very much."

"I also took a sneak peek. He's tall, but a little thin, and he looks very handsome."

"I didn't expect that. You can't judge a person by his appearance. Fortunately, I was careful and didn't agree to the visitor on the spot."

Doctor Sun said, "It's not your fault. The family concealed the truth on purpose. How could outsiders know about it? Especially the ladies whom you don't interact with on a daily basis."

"It just so happened that one of my patients knew their neighbor, so I asked him about his family's background and got to know him."

On the next day, the scholar's family came early in the morning.

Li really couldn't force a good expression anymore, and she replied to the visitor very attentively according to what everyone had discussed yesterday.

Li said pitifully, "Because Yuzhi's brother and sister are still young, the family still relies on inns and restaurants for food to survive."

"These restaurants and inns may look busy, but they don't actually make much money."

"Yuzhi's dowry can only be as little as twenty taels of silver and four seasons of clothing. I wonder if this will work?"