Early that morning, Xu Yu returned from selling tofu. He tossed his shoulder pole into the courtyard and hurried inside to find Xu Yao.
Ordinarily, he would have tidied everything up first. But while he was out on the streets today, he had heard that Jin Mingzhu had married Xie Fengxi. The news had nearly made his jaw drop.
Xu Yu rushed into the room, where Xu Yao was feeding Xiaofeng her medicine.
The child had developed a slight cough and had been sleeping poorly, especially at night. This morning, she had woken up coughing again.
The medicinal decoction was terribly bitter. Xu Yao held Xiaofeng in her arms, a medicine bowl in one hand and a spoon in the other.
“One more spoonful. You have to finish what’s left. In a little while, I’ll have your big brother take you out to buy some sweet grapes. Just take your medicine for another couple of days, and you’ll be better.”
Xiaofeng’s throat hurt. She reluctantly opened her mouth and swallowed the medicine, then rubbed her nose vigorously.
“Mom, this medicine is too bitter.”
Xu Yao put down the medicine bowl and brought her some water.
“I already told your big brother to buy you a couple of sweets on his way home. He should be back soon. Just bear with it a little longer.”
While they were talking, Xu Yu strode into the room.
“Mom, I’m back!”
Seeing her son return, Xu Yao immediately smiled.
“You’re back! Did you buy Xiaofeng her sweets?”
Xu Yu paused.
“I was in such a hurry to get home that I forgot. I’ll go out and buy them in a little while.”
As he spoke, he approached Xiaofeng and placed a hand against her forehead.
Finding that her temperature was normal, he finally turned to Xu Yao.
“Just now, I heard people discussing Mingzhu’s marriage on the street. Why is everyone saying she married that little tyrant, Xie Fengxi? Wasn’t she supposed to marry Xie Qinglin?”
Xu Yao froze.
She had been busy taking care of Xiaofeng and hadn’t gone out much.
“What did you say? How did the groom suddenly become Xie Fengxi?”
Xu Yu bent down in front of Xu Yao and lifted Xiaofeng onto his back.
“The groom really was changed. There’s no mistake about it.”
Xu Yao was stunned for a moment.
Then she suddenly clapped her hands and covered her mouth, laughing.
“My goodness! There’s such a wonderful thing? Xie Fengxi is better than Xie Qinglin! He’s a little young, but at least there’s nothing wrong with his health. Has Mingzhu actually gotten lucky?”
Xu Yu stood up and told Xiaofeng that he would take her out to buy sweets.
“Maybe. But it still depends on what Mingzhu wants. After having her engagement broken off, perhaps she’d rather find someone older who could take better care of her.”
Xu Yao was still rejoicing.
“What care? Everyone in North City knows Xie Qinglin is in poor health. He can barely look after himself, so how could he look after someone else? If the groom really has changed, that’s a good thing.”
“What should we do now? Should we go to the Xie Residence and ask? No matter what, how can they change the groom at the last minute? I’ll go find out exactly what happened.”
With that, Xu Yu carried Xiaofeng out of the room.
However, just as he reached the courtyard, a young female student came rushing in.
She wore a beret, a Western-style dress, and an elegant pair of thick-heeled leather shoes. She walked with brisk, energetic strides.
The moment she saw Xu Yu, her face lit up.
“Xu Yu! I’ve come to see Xiaofeng! I bought her some fruit and sweets. How is she? Is she feeling better?”
Xu Yu immediately felt a headache coming on.
“Qin Qing, did you really come here to see Xiaofeng?”
The smile on Qin Qing’s face instantly froze.
She stamped her foot and shoved the bags of fruit and sweets into Xu Yu’s arms.
“You block of ice! Nothing I do can warm you up, can it? Huh? Fine! I came to see you! I came to see you, all right? Are you really planning to spend your entire life selling tofu on the streets?”
Xu Yu still had Xiaofeng on his back.
Naturally, he couldn’t catch everything with one hand.
So he simply stood there without moving, allowing the things she had shoved at him to tumble to the ground.
Qin Qing was so upset that tears welled in her eyes.
“I like you! Is there something wrong with liking you and caring about you?”
As soon as she finished speaking, the tears really did fall.
Xiaofeng poked her head out from behind Xu Yu’s shoulder to watch, but he pushed her head back with one hand.
Too many things had happened in his family recently, leaving him thoroughly unsettled.
The young woman standing before him looked about eighteen or nineteen. She was beautiful, youthful, and dressed like a wealthy young lady.
Yet he remained unmoved.
Only when he saw that she was genuinely crying did he finally frown.
“Qin Duoduo!”
His sudden shout made Qin Qing press her lips together and force back her tears.
“What? Am I not even allowed to cry?”
This spoiled young lady was the daughter of the second branch of the Qin family, which owned a banking house.
She was Qin Shan’s older sister, Qin Qing, whose childhood nickname was Duoduo.
She laughed easily and cried just as easily.
And her favorite thing to do was pester Xu Yu.
Xu Yu looked down at the sweets and pears scattered around his feet, his expression cold.
“Can you stop making a fuss?”
He was anxious to go out and find out what had happened with Jin Mingzhu.
He bent down to pick up the things.
But just as he lowered his head, someone entered the courtyard.
Jin Mingzhu was dressed in a traditional Manchu gown, carrying a handkerchief in one hand.
She approached them, glanced at Qin Qing, and continued walking past.
“Stop resisting. You might as well marry her sooner rather than later, before you end up regretting it.”
Xu Yu: “…”
Qin Qing wiped away her tears and immediately stopped crying.
“See? Even other people are saying the same thing…”
Xu Yu hurried after Mingzhu.
Qin Qing quickly wiped her face and followed closely behind him.
Mingzhu entered the room and sat directly at the table.
Xu Yao immediately came over.
“Mingzhu, it isn’t time for your first visit home after the wedding yet. Why have you come back?”
Jin Mingzhu rubbed her face with both hands and let out a long sigh.
She had already been somewhat on guard and hadn’t fallen asleep until very late.
Perhaps precisely because she had gone to sleep so late, she had slept unusually soundly.
When she woke up that morning, she discovered that her head was resting on Xie Fengxi’s shoulder, with both her arms and legs draped over him.
He was awake too.
Naturally, he had taken the opportunity to tease her, accusing her of taking liberties with her own husband.
What kind of ridiculous situation was that?
He was just an infuriating brat!
How could she possibly have rolled over to his side of the bed and slept so soundly in his arms?
But the evidence was right there.
Worse still, he had caught her in the act.
She couldn’t explain herself no matter how hard she tried.
The whole incident had left her thoroughly miserable.
This young husband of hers was giving her a terrible headache.
Everyone gathered around.
Qin Qing had stopped crying. She picked up the sweets, took Xiaofeng into her arms, and began comforting the child.
Xu Yu, Xu Yao, and Jin Tianjiao, who still had no idea what was happening, all came over and sat down.
“Mingzhu, what happened?”
“Did they really change the groom at the last minute? Who exactly did you marry?”
“Isn’t changing the groom a good thing? Surely Xie Fengxi is much better than Xie Qinglin? What happened? Hurry up and tell us! You’re making us anxious!”
“…”
Everyone started questioning her at once.
Jin Mingzhu briefly explained the situation, rubbing her forehead with one hand.
“Matchmaker Zhao named the wrong person when she came to propose the marriage. It’s partly my fault for not reading the marriage certificate. The Xie family intended for me to marry Xie Fengxi from the very beginning. Our names were written on the certificate. Now he and I are married. That’s all there is to it.”
So the groom really had been Xie Fengxi.
Xu Yao rubbed her hands together, overjoyed.
“Your Father and Mother must be watching over you from heaven! Xie Fengxi it is, then! Haven’t you heard the saying that mischievous boys often grow into fine men? He’s just a little young. He’ll be perfectly fine once he grows up. The two of you should try to get along.”
Mingzhu’s headache grew worse.
“Get along? I feel like if I have to look at him every day, I won’t live to see twenty.”
As soon as she said that, Xu Yao stepped forward and poked her forehead.
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
Jin Tianjiao was simple-minded and laughed cheerfully.
“Don’t be upset, little sister. This is heaven’s arrangement. Perhaps it’s a good thing.”
Mingzhu nodded weakly.
“A good thing. Yes, a good thing.”
Then she spread her hands toward her family.
“Actually, there is a good side to it. I’ve already spoken to Madam Xie. You won’t have to rent a house anymore. All of you can move into the Xie Residence with me. And Xu Yu, if you want to attend a military academy, the Xie family can help with that too.”
These were the conditions she had raised from the beginning.
Madam Xie had agreed to all of them.
Mingzhu had always believed that Xu Yao had suffered enough hardship in this lifetime.
She thought Xu Yao would be delighted to hear the news.
Instead, Xu Yao froze for a moment, then waved her hand in refusal.
“No. We can’t move in with you. That won’t do.”
Mingzhu was puzzled.
“Why? It would make it much easier for me to take care of all of you.”
Xu Yao smiled bitterly.
“But if we all move in, they’ll have a hold over you where it hurts most. Mingzhu, you won’t have any way out then. What if you’re unhappy there? With your whole family depending on them, how many favors would you owe? We’ll stay right here. This will always be your family home. Whenever something happens, you can come back.”
In her previous life, Mingzhu had followed Lu Mingshu and married into the Lu family.
Madam Lu had treated her very well.
However, Lu Mingshu’s older and younger sisters had disliked her, and arguments had frequently broken out between them.
With none of her own family beside her, Mingzhu had sometimes felt deeply hurt.
Now, hearing Xu Yao’s words, she finally understood the good intentions behind her stepmother’s refusal.
How could she not be moved by a woman who was constantly thinking of what was best for her?
Mingzhu nodded, her determination growing even stronger.
“All right. Then wait for me. I’ll make sure you all live good lives.”
She straightened her back and summoned all her energy.
Xu Yao looked at her from the side.
“Then what are you going to do now? You and that Xie Fengxi…”
Before she could finish, Mingzhu had already stood up.
“He can do whatever he likes. I have more important things to take care of. We’ll leave things as they are for now, and when the time is right, we’ll get divorced.”
As she spoke, she reached out and touched Xiaofeng’s forehead.
Finding that the child wasn’t feverish, she stepped aside.
“Since you won’t be moving there, I’ll get on with other things first. I’m going to Zhengliang Pharmacy. We can talk about the rest later.”
Hearing that she was going to Zhengliang Pharmacy, Qin Qing suddenly clapped her hands.
“Ah, Mingzhu! What are you going to Zhengliang Pharmacy for? I heard from Qin Shan that Zhao Fengnian caused a huge mess. The pharmacy can’t come up with the money to settle it, so they’re putting the business up for transfer. I think it’s happening today! The Lu family and the Wang family are both fighting to get it!”
Zhengliang Pharmacy had already been struggling financially.
And Zhao Fengnian was constantly getting into trouble.
It was only a matter of time before the business had to be transferred to someone else.
But according to what had happened in her previous life, the transfer shouldn’t have occurred for another few months.
With the Lu family now competing for it, perhaps Jin Shuyao had been pushing things along behind the scenes.
The medicinal cuisine business hadn’t even been established yet.
She absolutely couldn’t let someone else acquire the pharmacy.
Having made up her mind, Mingzhu immediately headed for the door.
“I’m going to have a look.”
When she reached the doorway, Jin Mingzhu suddenly turned back and glanced at Qin Qing.
Then she crooked a finger at Xu Yu.
Xu Yu didn’t understand what she wanted, but he quickly approached.
After a moment’s thought, Mingzhu pulled him aside and lowered her voice.
“I know you have feelings for her. Even if you don’t right now, you will sooner or later. You might as well accept her affection now, before she ends up living an unhappy life and you regret it.”
In her previous life, Xu Yu had joined the army, while Qin Qing had married someone else.
Unfortunately, the man she married was no good.
Qin Qing had always had a strong temper, and her husband had made her life utterly miserable.
Later, she had begun smoking opium alongside him.
She never had any children.
Within just a few short years, she had grown so thin that she was barely recognizable.
What happened to Qin Qing had become a lasting source of pain for Xu Yu.
He had regretted it bitterly.
He had even killed someone in the street because of it.
Now that everything had started over, Mingzhu couldn’t help giving him a warning.
Xu Yu remained completely unconcerned.
“She was born into a wealthy banking family and grew up surrounded by money. How could she possibly have an unhappy life?”
Mingzhu was in a hurry to get to the pharmacy.
Seeing that he still wasn’t taking her seriously, she gave him a shove.
“Listen to me. Stop treating her so coldly all the time.”
Xu Yu stumbled slightly.
By the time he turned around again, Jin Mingzhu was already walking away briskly.
She lifted the hem of her skirt with one hand, stepped over the threshold, and let it fall again.
The hem of her Manchu gown swirled across the stone steps as she hurried away, moving as though the wind itself were carrying her forward.