Volume 1 Chapter 178 Means

  Listening to Ping Yi say this, all the Ping clan women around her felt a pang in their hearts. The sixth daughter of the Ping clan, Ping Liu, gritted her teeth and said: "That kind of cheap woman, I really wish I could beat her to death!"

  The second sister of the Ping family sobbed and said: "I'm about to be driven mad by her, I really can't think of a way out. If anyone can help me come up with a solution, I'll kowtow to them!"

  The crowd of women sighed together, and a woman from the Ping family sighed: "Just thinking about encountering this kind of thing after getting married makes me not want to get married at all." "Yes." "This time even our ancestors have no way out." "If only we could meet that kind of clever person who can think of a solution with just one turn of their brain, it would be great."

  In the midst of chirping and chattering, Lu Xuan hung her eyelids low, slowly stroking the rim of the cup.

  She didn't speak up, and the other girls didn't bother to pay attention to her either. Ping Yi just humored her with a try-see attitude, but didn't really expect her to come up with a solution.

  With a sigh and in low spirits, Lu Xiang thought: Never mind, I'll let Ping Shi off once again.

  She thought that Ping's family had bullied her and her brother before, thinking they were young and easy to control. If she showed them her intelligence in front of them, letting them know she was not simple, perhaps they would not dare anymore.

  To be honest, she didn't want to easily destroy the Ping family either, just for the sake of peace.

  Lu Xuan turned around and looked at her third sister, who was crying, and asked softly: "You said that concubine is a good family? Are her parents and relatives still there?"

  As soon as Lu Xuan spoke, her tone was cold and clear, a kind of confidence that often flowed out. Unconsciously, San Biao Jie raised her head, and the other girls stopped talking and turned to look at them.

  Third sister nodded and said: "Her father has read a few books, often writes letters for people in the village. There is a rice shop in Hankou, and their family situation is also okay."

  Lu Xuan nodded and asked: "How old is your illegitimate child now?"

  "More than two years old."

  "Does your wife like going out?"

  Third sister said: "It's just like that. If there's something going on, she'll go out. She, these days, has been favored more than before, and goes out more often."

  "Do you have a place you often go to?"

  "She has a married friend who often goes to her house and also frequently visits Taoist temples."

  Lu Xuan nodded, looking at her third sister-in-law seriously. She said calmly: "Why do you have to settle the matter in the backyard? Since she often goes out, you can ask your uncles to make some effort. For example, let someone bump into her and a certain man together with their clothes disheveled. Or, you can spend money to invite a Taoist priest to divine for her and her child, and casually mention that your illegitimate son is not your husband's child in the divination. When doing this, just remember to occasionally spread some rumors about the concubine being intimate with a man she grew up with, no harm done."

  All around, the crows and sparrows make no sound!

  In the midst of a stunned and shocked gaze, Lu Xuan calmly said: "There are many ways to destroy a person. She can borrow power from your husband, while you can use the entire Ping family. The vast Ping family, the daughter of a small shop owner, isn't that extremely simple?"

  In the dead silence, only Lu Xuan's voice, clear and cold as ice, slowly came through.

  One by one, the girls lifted their heads stupidly, and pair after pair of eyes stared at her in shock.

  In this era, books are more precious than ever. In a family like the Ping's, only those young masters truly read books. As for ordinary girls, they can recognize a few characters at most. With little reading and never having left Hanyang, their horizons are naturally narrow. So, when Lu Xue said that internal affairs don't need to be solved within the inner quarters, this simple truth was something those women who were used to guarding one corner of the sky couldn't think of.

  It was their first time knowing that something that sounded so complicated could be so simple. The seemingly unsolvable dilemma turned out to be surprisingly easy to deal with!

  Ping's second sister stared blankly at Lu Yue for a long time, and gradually, a hideous red flush appeared on her face. She nodded and said forcefully: "Thank you, cousin, I now know what to do."

  She turned around, looked at her sisters and sisters around her, and said seriously with tears: "Sisters, Ah Yue's words are related to my life and death, you must not say it."

  "Second sister, don't worry." "Sister, we are a family, after all." "Sister, I've disliked that cheap woman for a long time, it's best to get rid of her." "Second sister, what are you afraid of? Our family doesn't have such people."

  Looking at the crowd of Ping family women, Lu Xuan thought to himself: To be honest, the overbearing and ruthless Ping family has one good point, which is that they protect their own kind. When facing outsiders, the entire family always sticks together.

  Ping's second aunt was obviously impatient and after getting the promise from the girls, she hastily left her seat.

  And then the music started again, and it was the arrival of the god of longevity.

  Today is only Ping Shi's third aunt's birthday, and if it weren't for getting closer to Lu Xuan, this birthday wouldn't be made so big. In the midst of the commotion, Lu Xuan was pulled over by Third Aunt to have a close conversation.

  Lu Xuan presented a handwritten copy of the "Tao Te Ching" as a gift and then chatted with everyone for a while, eating dinner before taking his leave.

  It's evening now.

  Lu Yun put down his studies and said to Lu Xuan, "Sister, something strange happened today. A man named Wang Shang sent me a book, but when he saw me, he stared at me for half a day without saying a word. He even asked my name several times. And he also asked who was in my family."

  King Shang?

  "What book did you bring?"

  "It's Sima Qian's 'Records of the Grand Historian'. We don't have it at home."

  Sima Qian's 'Records of the Grand Historian'? That book has more than 500,000 words, and is a famous large-scale work from ancient times to the present. In this era when paper is extremely precious, 'Records of the Grand Historian' is a very valuable gift.

  It is said that to become an emperor, general or minister, one must start by studying history. History books contain the essence of wisdom from thousands of years of sages, which can make people wise and also make them refined and knowledgeable. From ancient times to the present day, Lu Xuan had always dreamed of seeing this book, but didn't expect to get it so soon.

  "This gift is too valuable, we'll visit him together on his day off. Ah, return the book to him..." Lu Xue thought for a moment before explaining to the bewildered Lu Yun: "I've gone out dressed as a man several times, and I used your name."

  Lu Yun understood. He looked up at his sister with a glare, and after a while, suddenly laughed and said: "Sister, does he like you?"

  Lu Ying shook her head, every time she met that Wang, he was dressed as a man, and he liked it, and also liked the masculine her.

  Lu Xuan was also taken aback by this point.

  However, before returning the book, she had to copy it down.

  Having made up her mind, she also thought that their family had just received 400 taels of gold and their financial situation was already very prosperous. Lu Xiang immediately got busy. She went out to buy some candles and returned home to tell Lu Yun: "We'll go to bed late tonight and copy this book together."

  Lu Yun naturally agreed.

  Copied until midnight, Lu Xuan got up a bit late. When he opened his eyes, his younger brother had already gone to school.

  After washing and having breakfast, Lu Xuan started copying again. When she was tired and her hands were sore, it was already afternoon.

  Looking at the white sun shining on the ground, Lu Xuan turned his head towards that piece of wall again.

  She slowly walked to the wall, stretched out her hand and stroked the rough and cold wall surface. Lu Xuan secretly thought: He should still be on the road, I wonder if he has returned to Luoyang or somewhere else?

  There is a thought, like this gentle spring breeze, that always lingers in my heart. Sometimes, Lu Xiang even feels that when the sun is shining brightly, she didn't care about him at all. She even thinks that her thoughts of him are just because the spring wind is too beautiful, the sunshine is too strong, and the peach blossoms are too gorgeous...

  Just as Lu Xuan slowly leaned against the wall, lowered her head and quietly blew in the spring breeze, a knock on the door sounded.

  With a creak, Lu Xuan opened the courtyard gate.

  Standing outside was still Huang's wife, but apart from Huang's wife, there were also Qing and a woman Lu Xun had rarely seen.

  In front of the three women, a large trunk was placed. Seeing Lu Yue looking at herself, Huang Shu and another woman carried the trunk, smiling and saying: "Ah Yue, this is Qi Jie from the main house. This morning, she said that she wanted to give you something, but didn't know what would be good. I said, Ah Yue and Ah Yun's clothes are not particularly good, just ordinary, if we want to give a gift, why not give a better piece of fabric?"

  It seems that what's packed inside this trunk are some fabrics?

  Huang Shuizi was a sociable person, she spoke and laughed as she went along, and in the blink of an eye, the whole courtyard became lively.

  After the trunk was carried into the room, Qizijie opened the lid and found it filled with some satin. The color of this satin was a bit old, obviously having been stored for a long time. However, the quality was among the best that could be found in Hanyang, far superior to what Lu Xue and Lu Yun usually wore.

  When Lu Yuan was satisfied, Qi Shu's wife smiled foolishly and walked forward, directly bowing to Lu Yuan and said: "Sister-in-law, this courtesy is what my second aunt wants me to give you."

  Second elder sister?

  So it seems this box of fabric is Second Aunt's thank-you gift?

  Qizhi smiled foolishly for a while, showing her two protruding front teeth, and then said: "These fabrics were the dowry of my second aunt's marriage. If it weren't for the decline of the main house in recent years, I wouldn't have received such a small gift." Her tone was extremely sincere.

  "These are enough." She turned around, "I'll go boil some water."

  "Let me, let me," Qi Sao hastily took the fire tongs from Lu Yue's hand and busied herself at the stove. As she worked, she said, "To be honest with you, Second Aunt is like family to me, I've watched her grow up. This time, she even thought of death. But thanks to your good idea, Second Aunt can live a good life now."

  She quickly lit the fire, added some water to it, and said: "At noon today, a Taoist priest came to Erlang's house. After combining the eight characters of several young masters, he said that Sanlang's father had mistakenly killed a merchant when he was a mixed child, and the merchant's soul was attached to Sanlang's body, causing Sanlang's soul to be restless and sick since childhood. When I came out, the family was in an uproar, and the woman and her son had been driven out by Master Gou."

  Turning her head, Qi Jiezi looked at Lu Yue with gratitude and reverence, "Sister-in-law, this is a life-saving favor."