It was Wan Yuxiu who finally couldn’t stand watching any longer. Clearing her throat, she brushed past Hu shi and Li Chengcai, who were still talking, stood up, and walked over to Li Jiaojiao.
“Jiaojiao, I’m truly sorry. I only found out once I got to the village. The harm this has caused you… I feel so guilty about it, which is why today I specially had him bring me here to apologize to you in person. I never meant to hurt you!”
Wan Yuxiu had a round face, and as she spoke, she looked especially sincere.
Hu shi immediately leaned in and said to Li Jiaojiao, “Jiaojiao, see, didn’t I tell you? Brother Xuan’s wife is truly one of a kind, reasonable and considerate, so good to you. Don’t keep that sour face on, come on, come over here!”
Li Jiaojiao gave Hu shi a cold glance.
Wan Yuxiu came forward with a smile, wanting to take Li Jiaojiao’s hand. Li Jiaojiao stepped back. Wan Yuxiu paused, her smile deepening even further. “I really mean it! Sister Jiaojiao, forgive my presumption calling you sister, I truly had no idea! Ever since you came, I thought about it for a whole day, my heart aching with guilt the whole time. I thought about it for a long while, Sister Jiaojiao, I really can’t let it go. This is a small token of my feelings, I hope you’ll accept it!”
With that, Wan Yuxiu waved to her maid, who immediately came forward holding a cosmetic case with both hands.
Before Wan Yuxiu’s maid even reached her, Li Jiaojiao caught that familiar, pungent fragrance again, and this time it was much stronger than the scent on the letter paper before. She frowned unconsciously.
Hu shi’s eyes went wide, it had been a long time since she’d seen such a fine cosmetic case, and she couldn’t help craning her neck, eyes full of envy.
Wan Yuxiu reached out and opened the case, revealing a full set of silver jewelry inside, along with some rouge and powder that young women liked to use. Hu shi’s mouth was nearly watering, and not just Hu shi, but Deng shi and Zhao shi too, all of them stunned into silence!
A full set like that must have cost several dozen taels of silver at least!
Wan Yuxiu handed the case straight to Li Jiaojiao. “Jiaojiao, please don’t turn your nose up at it!”
That familiar, pungent smell hit her again. Li Jiaojiao forced down her discomfort, took the case, and quickly closed it, holding it against her chest, with the case shut, the air felt much more bearable at once. She smiled and said to Wan Yuxiu, “You’re really too kind! Like I’ve always said, Chen Xuan is so accomplished, a scholar, and placed first no less, that’s a genius the likes of which our Liyang County rarely sees in a hundred years!”
A trace of smugness rose in Wan Yuxiu’s eyes. She lifted her head slightly and shot Chen Xuan a sidelong glance.
Wan Yuxiu’s father was only a minor county registrar in Liyang County, and without some stroke of fortune, a county registrar was the highest he’d ever be in this life. They’d tried everything they could to squeeze their way into Liyang County’s upper social circles, and Chen Xuan was the Wan family’s only hope. Wan Yuxiu, of course, knew exactly how exceptional Chen Xuan was, otherwise, why would she have followed him all the way to a place like Xunshui Village and stayed for several days straight?
“Besides, Madam Chen, I’m just a country girl, I know exactly how much I’m worth, so how could I dare reach above my station for a scholar like him? So my mother already told me she’ll find me a match suited to my own standing!”
A strange gleam flashed through Wan Yuxiu’s eyes, and her smile grew even brighter. With her naturally youthful face, when she smiled it made her seem all the more approachable, down-to-earth even, and everyone present laughed along.
“Really now… don’t worry, I’ll definitely keep an eye out for a good match for you!”
Wan Yuxiu patted the back of Li Jiaojiao’s hand, and then she and Chen Xuan left together.
Once they were gone, Hu shi came up with a beaming smile. “Oh my, Jiaojiao, see, didn’t I say so? Chen Xuan’s wife really doesn’t put on any airs at all, not only that, she’s genuinely kind. So just let it go, don’t keep pining, all right?”
Li Jiaojiao gave Hu shi a cold look. “Third Aunt, which eye of yours saw me pining for Chen Xuan?”
Wang shi also hurried forward. “That’s right, Third Sister-in-law, Chen Xuan is already married, and our Jiaojiao will need a match arranged too in the future, you really shouldn’t keep saying things like that!”
Hu shi gave an awkward laugh. Normally reserved Zhao shi also came over, pulling Li Qiaoqiao by the hand and squeezing in close to Li Jiaojiao. “Jiaojiao, just now Chen Xuan’s wife said she’d keep an eye out for you in the county seat, if it’s no trouble, could you bring your Cousin Qiaoqiao along too?”
Li Jiaojiao nearly burst out laughing, Wan Yuxiu’s offer had just been a polite courtesy, out of worry that Chen Xuan still had feelings for her, could Zhao shi really not see that?
And now pushing Li Qiaoqiao forward too? What for, to hand her over for Wan Yuxiu to take revenge on?
The thought of revenge made Li Jiaojiao’s expression suddenly change. She held the cosmetic case and turned to leave, but Wang shi grabbed her. “Jiaojiao, where are you going?”
Deng shi’s face darkened. “Don’t think that just because someone gave you a few things, you’ve forgotten your own family name, don’t get so full of yourself your tail sticks up to the sky. You’re still one of us, one of the Li family!”
Deng shi’s words were like a basin of cold water, and Li Jiaojiao instantly calmed down. She stared blankly at Wang shi, right, she couldn’t afford to stir up any trouble right now. If she spooked them into caution, that would be bad!
She smiled. “Listen to you, Grandmother, of course I know that, whether I marry in the future or whatever else happens, I’ll always carry the Li family name! I was just looking at this jewelry and thinking, what use is it to a country girl like me? I want to take it into town and exchange it for silver, then give it to you, Grandmother, to help out with the household expenses!”
Hearing this, Deng shi’s expression brightened considerably. She looked at Li Jiaojiao with satisfaction, then turned and said to Hu shi, “What are you still standing around for? Go cook, are you waiting for me to come wait on you?”
The smile on Hu shi’s face froze instantly. She shot Li Jiaojiao a resentful look and hurried off to cook.
Zhao shi still held onto a shred of hope regarding Li Jiaojiao and didn’t leave right away, so Deng shi turned her cannons on her next. “Eldest Daughter-in-law, and you? Are you waiting for me to wait on you too?”
Zhao shi’s face immediately turned ugly, and Li Qiaoqiao flushed red with embarrassment, her hands twisting the hem of her clothes tightly.
“Not even bothering to take a good look at yourself first, to see what kind of face you really have, and you dare think about marrying into the county seat? Did your ancestors’ graves start smoking with good fortune or something?”
Deng shi had a venomous tongue, and she didn’t care whether it was the eldest daughter-in-law or the second, Li Qiaoqiao covered her face and ran crying into the house. Zhao shi raised her head, gritted her teeth, shot Deng shi a quick glance, then lowered her head at once, hiding the hatred in her eyes.
Once everyone else had left, Deng shi gave Li Jiaojiao a long, deep look.
Li Jiaojiao immediately said sweetly to Deng shi, “Grandmother, I’ll go right now!”
With that, Li Jiaojiao turned at once and said to Wang shi, “Mother, I’m young and don’t know much about these things, come with me, would you?”
Wang shi instinctively glanced at Deng shi, who waved her hand. “Go on, go on, just come back soon!”
When Li Jiaojiao left, she brought Li Qiao along too, and the three of them, mother and children, headed toward Xingfeng Town.
On the way, Wang shi pinched her nose. “These young ladies from rich families really are different, everything smells so overpoweringly sweet, it’s about to choke me. Me, I was born to a hard life, I’ll spend my whole life loving the smell of the earth instead!”
Li Jiaojiao gave Wang shi a meaningful look.