Chapter 378 - Chapter 378: 374: Show of Power_1 (1/2)

Chapter 378: 374: Show of Power_1

Wen Shu had a long conversation with Li Xu before she took her leave.

Li Xu sat in the pavilion for a moment before he got up and walked towards the outskirts of the village.

Yingbao and the others only descended from the tree after Li Xu’s figure disappeared.

Yingbao said to Erni and Huzi Jiang Wu, “Don’t discuss what just happened with anyone.”

The three of them nodded.

After picking the fruits, Jiang Wu and Huzi carried the basket home. Erni said, “What’s the big deal? It’s just two people having a chat. In the village, girls and their favorite boyfriends even make plans to cut firewood in the mountains together, spending most of the day.”

“Wen Sister is different from the villagers. Her family’s teachings are very strict. If a scandal breaks out, it will be difficult to find a husband’s family in the future,” Yingbao said.

Erni responded, “Well, she can just marry Master Li then. After all, Master Li is still a scholar. He intends to sit for the examination, and maybe he will become a high-ranking official.”

Yingbao blinked and found that Erni’s words made sense.

However, if Li Xu was interested in Wen Sister, he would definitely plead with his mother to propose marriage for him.

No matter how disparate their family statuses were, he must shoulder the responsibility.

Yingbao silently set a deadline for Li Xu in her heart.

She gave him a month.

If Li Xu didn’t propose to the Wen Family within a month yet still didn’t avoid Wen Sister’s advances, Yingbao would take matters into her own hands. Hmph!

However, before the month was up, the news that Li Xu was to be engaged to Wen Shu came.

Wen’s mother handled the matter as Wen’s father was not present. The witnesses were the school teacher and Elder Mr. Wu

The engagement of the two families was sudden, but everyone was not surprised.

Wen’s mother had been living with Li Xu’s mother, Mrs. An, and her children for a while, so they understood each other’s character.

Wen’s mother admired Mrs. An’s personality and was optimistic about Li Xu’s potential to do well in the future. When Mrs. An formally sent a matchmaker to propose marriage, Wen’s mother agreed without hesitation.

Although the Wen Family hailed from a lineage of physicians, no one in the family had ever taken the imperial examination.

Conversely, under the guidance of Elder Mr. Wu, Li Xu’s academic progress soared. Perhaps next year, he might become a successful candidate in the imperial examination.

Taking into account that Li Xu was already 25 and would have to sit for the examination next year, while Wen Shu was 17, Wen’s mother wrote a letter to her husband setting the wedding date on the eighteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, deciding to hold the wedding ceremony in Dongchen Village.

As for whether any members of the Wen Family would attend, Wen’s mother didn’t care.

As long as she notified her husband by letter, they could come if they wanted, and it wouldn’t matter if they didn’t. As long as her daughter was happy, that was enough.

In June, Wen Silang came rushing to Dongchen Village with two horse-drawn carriages.

He wasn’t happy with his wife’s arbitrary decision, but after meeting Li Xu and his mother, his anger subsided a little.

Seeing that his daughter was happy, Wen Silang had no choice but to suppress his anger and arrange for a house to be built there.

His daughter had to get married from her own home so building a residence was a priority.

In the end, Jiang Sanlang sold a portion of his land to Wen’s mother, an area big enough to build a six-room courtyard.

Clan Leader Chen Fu also sold a piece of his lower-grade farmland to Li Xu so that he could build a house and marry a wife.

Then, Dongchen Village became lively again with a constant flow of carts carrying wood and bricks.

However, a dispute kicked off between Old Chen in the west of the village and the Chu Family.

Chu Man’s elder brother, upon seeing his crazy sister, became incensed. In his rage, he chased after Old Chen and his wife wielding a cleaver to avenge his sister.

Seeing this, Old Chen’s third son picked up a club and smacked Chu Man’s brother, knocking him to the ground.

Thus, the Chen and Chu Families fell out. The Chu Family filed a lawsuit against the Chen Family for alleged mistreatment and abuse of their daughter-in-law.

However, when the county government sent someone to investigate, they found no such matter. Instead, Old Chen’s family was in a mess because of that woman.

As for the scars on Chu Man’s face, nobody knew how they came about. Even Chu Man herself couldn’t make it clear who had hurt her. Her furious and frantic words were not credible at all.