Volume 1 Chapter 55: The Clever Lu Yue

  Although Huang Shu was a servant, she was also an intelligent and knowledgeable person. She turned her head to glance at Lu Yue, with a warm and gentle demeanor that made it difficult for others to discern whether she was intentionally trying to change their impression of her or if this was simply her natural disposition.

  After a daze, Huang Shuizi smiled and called out: "A Xuan?"

  Lu Xuan turned her head and looked at Huang Shu with pursed lips, seemingly unsure of how to treat her after she had just helped her.

  After a moment, Lu Xuan forced a smile and said in a low voice: "Thank you, sister, for speaking the truth earlier. It's getting late, I should go." After that, she turned around and walked towards a stall 300 meters away, where Lu Yun was squatting, staring at something with great interest.

  Watching Lu Xuan's back, Huang Shu had a thoughtful expression and didn't call out to her.

  Before long, Lu Xuan arrived behind Lu Yun.

  On this stall, on the thick Shu brocade, a string of stones are displayed. These smooth or bright stones are carved into various shapes, although rough, they also have a strong flavor.

  Lu Yun, with his head lowered, held a carving knife and carefully carved a stone the size of a palm. His expression was very focused, and Lu Xue had walked right in front of him without him noticing. The vendor, a thin man in his early twenties, was now squatting in front of Lu Yun, intently instructing him on how to proceed.

  Seeing Lu Yun's bright eyes due to his focus, Lu Yue was taken aback. It was the first time she discovered that her brother, who liked to look around while reading, could also be so focused.

  Lu Xuan turned her head and glanced at the sun, seeing that it was still early, so she didn't call him. She turned around and lingered in front of one stall after another.

  Lu Xuan walked while deep in thought.

  Just now, Huang's wife helped her, but she gave Lu Yue a bad feeling. It seemed that she had come prepared today.

  Did he come prepared? In order to get closer to her? Or is there another purpose?

  After a moment of contemplation, Lu Xuan coldly thought to herself: Tomorrow I'll go and ask around about Zhang Widow's proposal. If that young Zhang hadn't been instigated by someone else, it would be fine...

  After wandering around for a while, Lu Xuan suddenly heard a shocking and earth-shattering wailing sound from behind him. "Oh heavens, why don't you strike this beast with lightning... every day eating my food and using my things, I can't even get a few bucks! Heavens, open your eyes!"

  The wailing was too loud and bright, attracting everyone around. Lu Xuan originally had no interest, but when he turned his head to take a look, he suddenly discovered that the direction of the crying sound was actually where Lu Yun was just now!

  Luo Yueman walked over.

  As she approached, the woman cried even more violently, slapping her thighs with her palms, making a loud cracking sound that was so startling it made people's eardrums ache.

  Pushing through the crowd, Lu Xuan caught sight of Lu Yun being surrounded in the middle. At this moment, he was staring angrily at the woman with a pair of black eyes, his small fists clenched tightly.

  When the woman had cried for a while and caught her breath, Lu Yue heard her brother say on one side: "What's wrong with you? Qian Ge earned this little money just to read some books..."

  Before Lu Yun finished speaking, the stout woman with small eyes in her thirties suddenly let out a deafening scream. After interrupting Lu Yun's words, the woman slapped her own thigh and pointed to the sky, cursing: "Is there still justice? Beast! Beast! You're even instigating outsiders to deal with your own sister-in-law! Beast! Why don't you get struck by lightning!"

  Lu Yun was so angry that his handsome face twisted. At this moment, he caught sight of his sister standing in the crowd.

  Just as Lu Yun was about to take a step forward, he suddenly felt a jolt in his heart and thought: No way, my sister doesn't have an engagement, if this shrew were to splash dirty water on my sister, it would be terrible.

  After some thought, he gritted his teeth and stood still on the spot.

  Lu Xuan's eyes lit up as he saw his little brother's clever actions, and he couldn't help but laugh heartily. She knew that her younger brother was very intelligent!

  In the past, Lu Xuan always worried that her younger brother was too naive and couldn't understand the complexities of human relationships. So she would always explain to him the methods she used and why she used them. Now it seems that her younger brother has really grown up!

  Lu Yuexin's mood was relaxed and happy, with a smile spreading across his face. But then he was scolded by that shrewish woman, word by word, until he became a thin and pale young man, sitting motionless on the ground with his head hung low. The only thing moving was his hand, tightly grasping three iron coins, trembling with fear.

  That fat woman wailed for a while, then looked at the young man's tightly grasped hand again, and burst into loud sobs once more. "You beast! Heaven, strike this beast dead with lightning! I fed him, clothed him, and toiled to raise him, but he can't even spare a few coins to show respect for his sister-in-law..."

  In the midst of the fat woman's earth-shaking shriek, Lu Xuan heard several voices discussing: "This is Sun Erlang from Xihe Village."

  "Sun Erlang was also a pitiful man, saddled with this shrewish wife. Before dawn broke, he would go out to work and earn some money, but before it even reached his hands, his wife would be right behind him demanding it. If he didn't give it to her, she would start wailing, sometimes several times a day."

  "Don't listen to this shrew, look at her fat body. The several brats in her family are all fat, only this Sun Erlang is poorly dressed and hungry... Ah, this evil woman, not only did she occupy the tens of hectares of good land left by Sun's father for his second son, but also drove him to death with hard work. Now, for just a few cents, she's yelling so loudly."

  Hanyang Street is so good, the place is small, and you can always meet familiar people from all over the town. After hearing a few words from each other, Lu Xuan quickly understood the situation clearly.

  Thinking of the fat woman's scolding Lu Yun as a little beast earlier, Lu Yue's eyes turned cold. She walked through the crowd and came to Lu Yun's face.

  Suddenly, a beautiful and elegant young woman walked in, and the fat woman's crying stopped as she stared at Lu Yue with wide eyes.

  Lu Xuan didn't bother with her, she walked in front of her brother and saw that Lu Yun was trembling all over, smiled and comforted him by stroking his hair: "Silly Ah Yun, what's wrong? Do you know or not, your new friend is quite lucky."

  What?

  Everyone present looked at each other in confusion, one by one turning their heads to look at Lu Xuan. Even the fat woman's eyes widened, her nose twitching as she leaned in to listen.

  Facing the stunned and puzzled Lu Yun, Lu Yue raised her voice and said: "You, didn't you say a few days ago that the imperial court was holding a filial piety examination, and many big shots were sent to my Han Yang City to find people with high moral character?" She pointed at the thin and pale young man who was covering his face with his hands, unmoving, and said: "Look at your friend, the land that our father divided for him, he gave it all to his older brother and sister-in-law. He works hard every day to earn money, but can't even fill his own belly or wear warm clothes, yet he raises his sister-in-law and nephew and niece so plumply. Ah Yun, do you know what filial piety is? This is filial piety! Being respectful to one's older brother and sister-in-law, being diligent in one's duties, this kind of person will be heavily rewarded by the imperial court. Originally, if he had just stayed hidden away in that whatever Lower River Village, those big shots wouldn't have known about his character so quickly. But now that his sister-in-law has made such a fuss, his reputation has grown greatly!"

  When he heard this, the young man let go of his hands covering his face and stared blankly at Lu Yue. The fat woman who was wailing just now quickly covered her mouth with her hand, and her small eyes rolled around, obviously looking for the big shot that Lu Yue mentioned.