Volume 1 Chapter 54: Huang's Wife

  The butcher had just said this, when he saw Lu Yue retreat a few steps back, her black eyes staring at him coldly.

  The butcher was startled, and then he smiled and said: "Ah, Ah Ruan wants to sell meat?"

  "Sold!" Just then, Luoyin said today's unused meat, she casually swiped the meat on the chopping board with her hand, "Give this piece."

  "Ah, good!" - The butcher's knife had just come down when a woman's cheerful voice was heard, "Give me fifteen catties of leg meat." A fair and refined woman in her thirties walked over. Although she was dressed plainly, her clothes fit well and were neat, the smile on her face seemed to be a habitual one, revealing a sense of complacent pride.

  As soon as the butcher saw the woman, he became spirited and called out with his yellow teeth: "It's Huang Shuizi! How come you're selling meat by yourself today? Alright, I'll give you the best leg meat right away." After that, he quickly weighed the piece of meat for Lu Xue and threw it to her, then walked over to lift up the other half of the unopened pork.

  At this time, the woman seemed to have found Lu Yue and called out: "Hey, isn't that Sister-in-law? Sister-in-law, you're selling meat today too?"

  Lu Yue, who was just about to turn around, heard the call and turned her head back.

  As soon as the woman came up, Lu Xuan immediately recognized her. She seemed to be the one in charge of the kitchen from the second house of the Lu family, and had met her before at the Ping Manor. It was said that she was eloquent and good at handling matters.

  Huang Shu's eyes sparkled as she looked at Lu Xuan. She then smiled warmly and said, "Cousin, I haven't seen you visiting the Ping Manor in a while. Ah, I've heard about your situation - didn't you break off an engagement? The Ping family is quite well-known in this region of Han Yang, and your second aunt was still mentioning just the other day that she wanted to introduce you to a good match."

  Compared to the past when they pretended not to know each other, Huang's wife was surprisingly enthusiastic towards Lu Yue. Lu Yue listened to her talking non-stop and somehow didn't want to leave.

  After deliberation in her heart, Lu Xuan lowered her eyes and pursed her lips tightly, as if Huang Shu's mention of Ping Shi had touched a nerve, making her stubbornly unwilling to have any further relationship with the maternal family, even if it meant shedding blood.

  Seeing Lu Yue like this, Huang Shu thought of the regret that Old Lady Ping had expressed that day and smiled even more warmly. She reached out to pat Lu Yue's shoulder and said with a bitter tone: "Sister-in-law, it's not me saying you're wrong. You, originally an orphan without parents, finally have a powerful maternal family, but why are you so unfeeling? Ah, you're just young, you don't know what it's like for a married-out daughter to be without the support of her natal family. Let's say, if you suffer grievances in your husband's household, or get framed by someone, wouldn't you want to clear up the misunderstanding? Wouldn't you need to curry favor with people above and below? You have nothing, how can you stand firm in your husband's household?"

  It's reasonable and well-said.

  Lu Xuan, however, seemed rather impatient and only heard her say coldly: "The one who snatched my husband is my cousin! For the sake of the Zeng family, they sold me out and wanted to ruin my reputation - it's also my so-called relatives!" Although she said this in a cold tone, Lu Xuan deliberately lowered her voice, so the butcher standing beside her didn't quite catch what she said.

  Jian Lu Yan was full of resentment, but still knew how to maintain each other's dignity. When mentioning Ping Shi, there was only resentment without hatred. Huang Saozi's eyes flickered again.

  At this moment, suddenly, a 16 or 17-year-old young man rushed over from a side street. He was a tall and thin boy with a slightly yellowish complexion, protruding eyes, but his clothes were still quite decent.

  He clearly came for Lu Xuan, and after rushing in front of her, he lowered his head and stared at Lu Xuan. When he met her beautiful face, the anger dissipated a bit, but the words that came out were still filled with annoyance, "Lu Xuan?"

  Who is this person?

  Lu Xuan raised her head and looked at him.

  The young man glared at her with his bulging eyes and declared, "I know you're a shrew! I'm telling you, no matter how good-looking you are or that you can read books and make money, I won't marry you! Did you hear me? I don't want to marry you!"

  The man's voice was not small, so many people heard his words. As his voice fell, a rustling sound could be heard, and countless pairs of eyes turned around, staring straight at Lu Xuan.

  Lu Ying didn't need to look to know how excited these onlookers were.

  She raised her head slightly, and after the young man finished speaking, Lu Xuan furrowed her brow and asked coldly, "Who are you?" Her face was puzzled, and despite the person's blatant disregard for her dignity in his verbal attack, her attitude remained gentle and calm. "You mentioned marrying me earlier, so is it that your family wants to send someone to propose to me? Or did you mistake me for someone else?" Lu Xuan hooked her lip as she spoke, her cold voice flowing like a stream through the hearts of the crowd. "If it's the former, don't worry, the matchmaker who would be proposing on your behalf hasn't even stepped foot in my family's door yet."

  At this time, Lu Ying's demeanor was very high, as if an elder facing an unreasonable and noisy younger generation. The young man came with a strong momentum, but when he faced such a beautiful and gentle Lu Ying, his anger was like pouring into the cold snow of the ninth heaven, and suddenly there was no trace of it.

  A buzzing noise suddenly rose from the surrounding area, and Huang's wife stepped out from one side, pointing at the young man with a shrill voice: "You, young master, whose family are you from? How dare you speak like that? It's really laughable. My cousin doesn't even know who you are, yet you rush forward to scold her? Do you think she has no parents and is easy to bully?"

  She looked up and down at the young man with a slanted glance, coldly smiling: "With your appearance, you still dare to say you don't want to marry my cousin? Bah, not even taking a look at yourself, thinking you're some kind of treasure?"

  This counterattack was swift and powerful, and it was the first time that Lu Xuan stood up for herself when she was bullied. Thinking of Lu Xuan growing up like this, who had ever really protected her?

  After saying this, Huang's wife turned to Lu Yue and held her hand, saying: "Ah Yue, don't bother with such people, and don't get angry, it's not worth it." Her address had directly changed from "sister-in-law" to "Ah Yue".

  Lu Yu looked at the young man whose face had turned red with anger after being scolded by Huang's wife, and nodded: "I've been reading books since I was a child, so I naturally know what kind of people are reasonable and what kind of people are not!"

  Lu Xuan said this sentence clearly, and with her gentle expression, the onlookers thought at the same time: Yes, it's said that this Lu lady is well-read in poetry and books. Her handwriting is praised by everyone in Handan City.

  As they thought about it, the crowd that had just been slightly disdainful suddenly felt that the gentle and polite little girl in front of them was shining brightly. This brightness completely overshadowed the young man standing face to face with her.

  That young man himself had no standing to attack Lu Yue, and now being stared at and accused by so many people, he also felt the pair of black eyes staring at him, exuding an inexplicable intimidation. His face turned red as he stood still for a while before suddenly turning around and running away.

  Looking at the young man's receding back, Lu Xuan's voice rose slightly as he asked the butcher, "Uncle, whose son is this?"

  The buzzing around her turned into laughter at her question.

  The butcher replied: "It's from the house of Widow Zhang in the west of the city. Ah, that Widow Zhang has only this one son and she spoils him."

  Then another bystander said, "Zhang widow must think Ah Yue is capable and has discussed the matter of proposing marriage to her son." "The Zhang widow's family also has a store, I heard it's doing very well." "Ah Yue reads a lot of books, where is she a shrew? I think some people just can't stand her being good." "Exactly, exactly."

  Perhaps it was Lu Xuan's gentle and composed demeanor, which differed greatly from the common girls often seen in the city, or perhaps it was the reverence for scholars that gradually increased the praise for her, sweeping away the previous rumors and slander against Lu Xuan.

  There will be three watches tonight.