Chapter 64 Good Days

  Peng Ziqi had just walked out of the Yang mansion's main gate when he saw Cao Yuguang and Jiang Zhichen, dressed in matching outfits like a couple, walking towards him with big smiles on their faces. Cao Dashi's feet seemed to be floating on air as if he was strolling on clouds. As soon as he saw Peng Ziqi coming out of the mansion, Jiang Zhichen loudly and arrogantly shouted: "Are you from the Yang mansion? Call out Yang Xu, this young master has come to collect debts!"

  "Bang!"

  The back of his head was immediately slapped, and Cao Yuguo scolded with a smile: "What account are you collecting? Brother Biao is not here to collect interest, we are here to collect his store."

  Jiang Zhiqing immediately changed his tone and said: "Right, right, closing up shop."

  He pulled out a thick bundle of banknotes from his bosom and shouted, "Here, we've brought the money. When are you going to hand over the shop?"

  Peng Ziqi said angrily: "Get out! If you don't want to die, get out of here!"

  "Wow, quite impressive!"

  Jiang Zhiqing sneered: "Once these few shops fall into my hands, I will definitely be able to surpass Yang Xu and become..."

  That open secret, he ultimately didn't dare to say it out loud, but just laughed and said: "Youngster, what are you still following Yang Xu for? What future do you have? Why not be clever and surrender to me, Jiang Zhiqiang, and become my subordinate?"

  He sized up Peng Ziqing, and with a sly smile said: "This young master sees that you have delicate skin, beautiful eyebrows and big eyes, very suitable for being a rabbit. This young master treats all paths the same way, if you obediently follow this young master**, you will definitely be more favored than my wives and concubines. Later on..."

  What he said was so lewd that not every woman would understand, but Peng Qihui, although she had never experienced romantic relationships, grew up in what kind of environment? What did these words mean that she couldn't understand? Peng's face suddenly turned bright red with embarrassment. She slightly lifted her foot and took a swift step forward, appearing before Jiang Zhiyin in an instant. With a swift motion, she slapped him with a loud "smack", sending Jiang tumbling to the ground like a rolling gourd, almost falling into the drainage ditch by the wall.

  "Ah yo, ah yo, you...you think you can get away with this? Ah! My front teeth, don't go..."

  Jiang Zhiqing's mouth was full of blood, his teeth were exposed to the wind as he shouted, but Peng Ziqing didn't even give him a proper look and had already walked away in a hurry.

  Cao Yuguang was scared away by the white-robed young master's fiery temper and swift movements, and in his haste, he didn't forget to pick up the large bundle of money. Seeing Peng Ziqi leave, he plucked up the courage to return, but instead of helping his cousin, he simply shouted at the door: "Yang, you come out! You owe me money and won't pay it back, I'll sue you. Do you know who I am? I won't let you off until you're locked up in prison!"

  Just then, another tall and sturdy man with a square face walked out of the gate, holding a bucket in his right hand and a bundle of papers under his arm. Cao Yuguo quickly dodged behind his cousin, who had just stood up, but the man ignored them and walked to the side of the gate, where he posted a notice on the wall with a few quick strokes. Then, he picked up the bucket and walked over to them, saying in a loud voice, "Stop shouting, my young master is not at home."

  Cao Yuguang poked his head out from behind Jiang Zhiqin's shoulder and asked, "Where did Yang Xu go?"

  "Er Langzi said with a silly tone: 'My young master's personal servant Xiao Qi has gone missing, and the young master asked me to put up a notice to find him. The young master himself also went out to ask friends for help.'"

  Jiang Zhiqing held two large door teeth with blood in his hand, and asked while rolling his eyes: "Was your young master hastily summoned back home last night just because of this?"

  Yes.

  Jiang Zhiqing and Cao Yuguang looked at each other, their faces filled with disbelief. Cao Yuguang couldn't help but ask: "You're saying that the young master's personal servant ran away, so he rushed back to look for him? He didn't even care about our gambling appointment?"

  The silly boy nodded naturally: "Yes, my young master has always been the most fond of Xiaodi, treating her like his own sister. Who in Qingzhou City doesn't know that? Xiaodi is lost, and my young master is naturally anxious." After finishing speaking, he carried the bucket and left.

  Cao Yuguang's eyes widened, and he held the bundle of money for a long time before exclaiming emotionally: "How is this possible? This is too... too... damn touching!"

  Jiang Zhiqing nervously said: "Older cousin!"

  "Hey, let's not get emotional about this. Closing the shop is a separate matter. Let's head back first and come back with the guarantor and the person in charge later. We can close the shop then."

  Jiang Zhiqing said with a bitter face: "If I had known earlier, I wouldn't have been in such a hurry. I borrowed money from my cousin, and the interest is very high."

  Cao Yuguang glared at him and said, "You're useless. Once the store is in our hands, won't we make a profit of three to two days? Now you want to go there, who are you looking for? Haven't you seen that Old Yang's family is now like a fire god, with smoke coming out of their nostrils? If we rush in to handle the handover now, aren't we asking for death?"

  He stuffed the money into Jiang Zhiqin's bosom, let out a yawn and lazily said: "I'm exhausted, yesterday was a sleepless night, it really took a toll on me... Hehe..., but that ethereal and enchanting taste... It's truly damn delightful..."

  Cao Yu Guang licked his lips, and said with a lingering tone: "Let's go, go back and sleep well, I'll visit 'Jing Hua Shui Xie' again tonight, now I'm savoring the aftertaste, haha..."

  Jiang Zhiqing held two doors, with a mouthful of blood, and clutched a bundle of money in his arms. He walked away with his unlucky older cousin, looking bitter. Just as they left, a young couple rushed over, the man 18 or 19 years old, still with some childishness on his face, the woman bright-eyed and white-toothed, with a delicate complexion like a flower.

  Two people ran to the gate, and without even looking at what was posted on the wall beside them, they made a loud noise by knocking on the door ring. The gatekeeper came to welcome them, and as soon as he opened the door, the young man hastily asked: "Is Mr. Yang Xu at home?"

  Lao Menzi replied: "The young master has gone out, what can I do for you, sir?"

  "Have you gone out?"

  The young master stamped his foot and said: "I have an urgent matter. Is Xiao Guan Shi here? It's okay if I see him, he knows me."

  The gatekeeper took a look at the attire of the couple and hurried in to deliver the message. Before long, Xiao Guan Shi hastily arrived, thinking that there was news about Xiaodiao. Upon hearing their intention, he couldn't help but feel greatly disappointed.

  It turned out that the man and woman were Cui Yuanlie and Zhu Shanbi. The two had just fallen in love, and their feelings for each other quickly ignited into a passionate flame. However, Zhu's father heard some rumors about them and called his daughter over to question her. When he found out that Cui was only the son of a rural official, a low-ranking government employee, he immediately became displeased. How could someone from such a humble background be worthy of his esteemed family?

  The reason why the Cui family and the emperor had a grudge was not told to Miss Zhu by Cui Yuanlie. Originally, it was the emperor's business to be grateful to you, but if you didn't know how to behave yourself and went around bragging that the emperor was down on his luck in the past and received help from your family, then that would be too unseemly. This is precisely why the Cui family has always been very low-key.

  This kindness, after all, is limited to the emperor's gratitude towards Old Man Cui Di. Once the old man passes away, the imperial gifts and honors bestowed upon the Cui family will be nothing more than a glorious history that cannot last. The emperor's favoritism cannot bring any benefits to the descendants of the Cui family. Zhu Yuanzhang would not abuse his power just because he is grateful for Old Man Cui's kindness, so Cui Yuanlie does not want to show off these things in front of his beloved girl.

  Mr. Zhu's intervention was just like a loving couple, how could Miss Zhu bear it? She secretly sneaked out of the house to discuss countermeasures with her sweetheart, but unexpectedly she was discovered by someone sent by her father to monitor her, and reported back to Mr. Zhu. The two elder brothers of Zhu Shanbi immediately brought a large group of family guards to catch people, and the two saw that the situation was not good and escaped immediately. However, when they arrived at the city gate, they found that there were already people from the Zhu family guarding it. In desperation, Cui Yuanlie thought of his good friend Yang Xu and came to ask for his help.

  Xiao Guanzheng was preoccupied with his daughter and didn't have the heart to listen to what he needed help with. Cui Yuanlie had visited before, but the young master wasn't home at the time. Later, after hearing about it, he instructed him that this Mr. Cui was a very good friend, and if he came again, he must be treated well. Now, hearing that he just wanted to temporarily borrow a place to stay in the mansion for two days to avoid some trouble, he readily agreed and instructed Cuicloud to take the two people to the side house, and other matters would wait until the young master returned to discuss.

  Outside the Yang Mansion, a little maid was secretly watching Cui Yuanlie and Zhu Shanbi from afar. Seeing that they had entered the Yang Mansion for quite some time without coming out again, she tilted her head in thought, then turned around and ran away...

  Xia Fu hastily arrived at the Sun Mansion, only to see the Sun Mansion decorated with lanterns and streamers, filled with joy and excitement. The Sun family members were busy coming and going. Xia Fu was puzzled and walked into the pharmacy hall, saying to the shopkeeper: "Old shopkeeper, Yang wants to meet Geng Yuanwai, please help me inform him."

  "Ah, it's Master Yang who has arrived."

  The old shopkeeper saw him and hurried out from behind the counter, smiling apologetically: "I'm really sorry, but it's not very convenient today. Our Sun family is getting married today, and all the relatives have arrived, they're signing the marriage certificate right now."

  Xia Yu's face was bewildered: "Marry a daughter-in-law? The Sun family only has one daughter, what kind of daughter-in-law would I marry?"

  It turned out that today was the day when Sun Xuelian's daughter, Miao Yi, was engaged. Since the Sun family was a matrilocal family, the ceremony was similar to that of welcoming a daughter-in-law. Generally, families would not make a big fuss about this matter and would only hold a simple ceremony on the wedding day when the groom came to take his bride home. However, some wealthy families who did not want to lose face would have their son-in-law move into their house and live with them like a son, while sending their own daughter to live with relatives as if she were already married.

  Then Najia asked Cai, the six rites were not lacking, and everything was done in accordance with the son's marriage. When it came to the auspicious day of the wedding, there was still a flower sedan chair going to the relatives' house to welcome the bride, and the dowry and drum music accompanied the procession. At home, the queue of new people was arranged as usual, kicking the sedan door, inviting the sedan out, leading the new couple to the hall to pay their respects, and the drums and music were loud and the cannon fire shook the ground. A grand feast was held for relatives and guests, using a lively scene to cover up the formality of the man's marriage, and the daughter sat in the flower sedan chair "married out" as the bride.

  It's just a formality, and it can't change the status of the man. After marriage, the man's name has to be written into the woman's family tree, and he has to take his wife's surname. Generally, when a son-in-law goes to his wife's home, he is treated as a guest and received with great ceremony. But an uxorilocal son-in-law has no status; if his wife dotes on him, that's okay, but if not, she can tell him to go sleep in the gatehouse, and he'll have to put up with it. If his wife has brothers or sisters, they will generally bully their sister's husband just like a father- or mother-in-law, older or younger sister-in-law would bully their daughter-in-law; excluding and cold-shouldering him is also common.

  The Sun family is a wealthy family, and naturally they don't want their daughter's marriage to pass by so quietly. At the same time, Sun Xuelian also wants to avoid her daughter having any further contact with Yang Xu that would tarnish her reputation. So soon after Sun Miaoyi returned from the Jade Emperor Temple, Sun Xuelian used the excuse of getting married to send her to live at her aunt's house, and invited the groom over to their home, only bringing her daughter back today.

  Today is a good day for Sun Meiyue and her son-in-law Du Tianwei to change their wedding certificates.