Li Shi didn’t want to go out on a rainy day. The road from her home to the county was going to be difficult and bumpy, and she would be covered in mud. However, if the young master of the Hou Mansion came, she would suffer a lot. Hey, it was the Hou Mansion; that was better than the county magistrate and was even more powerful. As for what the Hou Mansion was, the head of the house just said it was much more powerful than the county magistrate.

Zhulan also felt uncertain. Logically, if he wasn’t coming, he should have sent a servant to inform them. However, considering the significant difference in status between the two families and Yao Zheyu’s consistently lofty attitude, it wasn’t certain he would notify. “Let me inquire with your father. I’ll get back to you in a while.”

Li Shi, “Ok”.

Zhou Shuren heard the conversation between Zhulan and Li Shi in the room. As soon as Zhulan came in, Zhou Shuren said: “Get everything ready. Yao Zheyu is a cautious person. Since he said he could come, he will arrive on time. This little rain can’t stop a person with a rift in his heart.

“

Zhulan took the purse and said, “Then it looks like you know what’s going on.”

It seemed that Zhou Shuren already knew something about Yao Zheyu.

Zhulan came out, took out two coins, and said, “Buy some more ribs and ten pounds of meat. If we can’t eat today, let’s make wontons for us tomorrow.”

Li Shi swallowed in disappointment. It was three months since she last ate wontons. In front of her, she asked again, “Do I need to buy something else?”

Zhulan was very wary of Yao Zheyu, and Yao Zheyu was eyeing Wang Ru. She didn’t want Li Shi to cook fancy dishes, just standard rural dishes, “By the way, buy some more large bones on the way back. Yes, get a bit extra for making bone broth and pulling noodles. We don’t need anything else; this should be enough.”

The temperature dropped, and she could finally eat the hot soup. She wanted to eat hot pot even more. There were a lot of green vegetables in the yard, unlike the winter hot pot where there were no greens. She swallowed her saliva and started with the wonton bone soup noodles.

The hot pot will have to wait a little longer. After the rain, according to the memory of the original body, mushrooms would appear on the mountains, and the fresh mushroom hot pot was also delicious. Zhulan swallowed again, no, she shouldn’t think about it anymore.

Li Shi wrote down everything she had to buy, “Mom, I’m leaving then.”

Zhu Lan cautioned, “Don’t bother with the umbrella today; it’s more tiring, and it won’t shield you from the rain. Take a raincoat and make sure to dress warmly to avoid catching a cold.”

Li Shi was moved to tears and said, “Mom, I remember.”

Unable to bear Li Shi’s excessive intimacy, Zhu Lan shivered. “Hurry up, let’s go.”

Li Shi, “.”

It was obvious just now. It was fine, but her mother-in-law was impatient again!

In the kitchen, Zhao Shi killed fish and rabbits according to Li Shi’s instructions. Zhulan couldn’t handle it, so she had to help her by boiling water.

Zhao Shi also knew that the young master of the Hou family was coming for a visit. She was happy that her father-in-law was doing great and her husband’s family was getting better and better. She saw her mother-in-law sit down to light the fire and was a little absent-minded. After preparing a fish, she pursed her lips and finally spoke, “Mother, is the young master from the Marquis’s residence very capable?”

Zhu Lan didn’t think much, assuming Zhao Shi was curious, and explained, “In terms of status, hóufǔ gōngzi from the Hou family relies on the Hou family. With Hou Manison’s backing, he has face wherever he goes. However, on a personal level, since he hasn’t been officially designated as the shìzi¹, the current gōngzi from the Hou family is just an ordinary member. Talking about capability, having the Hou family’s reputation outside can indeed be influential. However, there are many gōngzis in the Hou family, and only the current shìzi or the future shìzi, can truly leverage those connections.”

Zhao Shi understood what she understood, and it was precisely because she understood that she was disappointed. To put it bluntly, the gōngzi of the Hou Mansion who was coming for a visit today was just one of many gōngzis. If they really wanted to take advantage of his power, the shìzi would be the safest, but the shìzi was too far away. So she stopped asking questions.

Zhu Lan cautioned, “Today, Yu Shuang doesn’t need to appear. I just reminded her earlier. You should take care of her more.”

It was not that she was overthinking, but a year was enough for her to understand how little the lives of the lower class were valued in ancient times. She didn’t want to make malicious guesses, but she had to be careful. The aristocratic family kept beauties in captivity. The beauty trap was very old-fashioned, but it was easy to use. They just took beautiful girls as children and cultivated them as beauties. However, none of the beauties ended well.

She had to be even more careful when it came to Yao Zheyu, the scheming male protagonist. Their family was just a farmer-scholar family, insignificant, so it was better to hide Yushuang. Ever since she saw some of Yao Zheyu’s essence clearly, she really didn’t see any truth, kindness and beauty in Yao Zheyu!

Zhao Shi was frightened, and she almost cut her hand with the knife. Fortunately, Zhulan held her hand down and comforted her: “Don’t be afraid, we are just taking precautions.”

Zhao Shi was really scared. Back then, even though her mother was already old, she still couldn’t save herself because of her beauty and was sold. Before she left, her mother cried and told her that beauty was a curse and she didn’t want her daughter to be taken away. “Mother, I will be careful with Yushuang.”

Zhulan thought to herself, luckily Zhao Shi herself was smart enough. The original person and she were not evil people. Now Zhao Shi had two children and a happy life. She was also a blessed person.

An hour later, the elder couple still hadn’t returned home, but Yao Zheyu’s carriage arrived. The carriages of Hu’s residence differed from those of merchants; this dynasty prominently displayed class distinctions in every aspect. There were regulations regarding the size and specifications of carriages and the number of horses, not following them would lead to inquiries.

Shi Qing was pulled by only one horse at a time, while Yao Zheyu was pulled by two horses. This was still low-key with only two horses. The carriages were of different sizes, and there were guards behind him.

Fortunately, it was raining heavily today and no one was in the village. Otherwise, the doorway of Zhulan’s house would have been particularly lively.

Zhou Shuren and Zhulan stood at the door to welcome Yao Zheyu as he entered. In the yard of their home, Zhulan had her two sons pave a stone path at the beginning of spring. It was washed clean on rainy days, and there was no mud at the foot of the main hall.

Yao Zhe looked at the entire yard out of the corner of his eye. Compared with other houses in the village, the Zhou family’s house was pretty good. The yard was spacious and tidy. The chickens and other poultry were all in cages. It was estimated that there was no odor at all due to diligent cleaning. The family tradition of the Zhou family was indeed good.

Zhou Shuren asked Yao Zheyu to sit down and said, “I’m a countryman. Yao gōngzi came here after a long journey, please have this cup of hot tea to warm himself up.”

Yao Zheyu smelled the aroma of the tea. Although it was not the top-grade tea that he often drank, it smelled good and rare. He had a good tea, and his eyes twinkled; the Zhou family’s wealth was really strong. Although he couldn’t find out everything in one day, he knew a bit about it. So he took a sip and said, “Good tea.”

Zhou Shuren smiled and said, “I’m not a tea person. I only know that if I buy the best tea from the best tea shop, I can win the praise of the young master. The shopkeeper didn’t lie to me.”

Yao Zheyu smiled. This Zhou Xiucai was indeed interesting. Most people would pretend, but he openly spoke about it. Yao Zheyu’s favorable impression increased a bit more. “I came here abruptly for a visit today, bringing a gift as a token of apology. I hope it can be a small gesture to win Zhou Xiucai’s favor.”

Zhulan went back to the house after seeing the gift, but she kept listening. Just now, she had taken a quick glance and noticed that the gifts were all in brocade boxes—definitely not inexpensive.

Zhou Shuren didn’t look at the brocade boxes. “Gōngzi is too polite. Your visit is an honor, something not everyone can attain. Bringing a gift today makes me feel undeserving.”

Yao Zheyu waved his hand, “Apart from the title of gōngzi of the Hou Mansion, I am actually nothing. Zhou Xiucai doesn’t need to be polite.”

Zhou Shuren rolled his eyes inwardly. Did the gōngzi think he would be willing to be polite? Even if he said “don’t be polite” with his mouth, his demeanor hadn’t changed at all. At the time, Zhou Shuren was extremely cautious, not daring to take a wrong step. It was better to be cautious.

(End of chapter)

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Footnote

1. Heir of an aristocratic family.